Ctbrarp  of  Che  Cheolo^ical  ^emmarp 

PRINCETON  • NEW  JERSEY 

PURCHASED  BY  THE 
HAMILL  MISSIONARY  FUND 

DS  902  . G85 

Griffis,  William  Elliot. 

Corea,  without  and  within 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/coreawithoutwithOOgrif 


9 


COREA 


WITHOUT  AND  WITHIN: 


CHAPTERS  ON 

COREAN  HISTORY,  MANNERS  AND  RELIGION 


HENDRICK  HAMEL’S  NARRATIVE  OF  CAPTIVITY 
AND  TRAVELS  IN  COREA,  ANNOTATED. 


BY 

WILLIAM  ELLIOT  tJRIFFIS, 

author  of  “The  Mikado’s  Empire,”  “Corea,  the  Hermit 
Nation, ” “The  Tokio  Guide,”  etc. 


SECOND  EDITION. 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION, 

1334  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


COM  TENTS. 


PAGE 

Introductory  Chapter 9 

PART  I. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Who  are  the  Coreans? 15 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Three  Kingdoms  and  Ko-rai 22 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Land  of  Morning  Calm 28 

PART  II. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Hamel’s  Shipwreck  in  Corea 37 

CHARTER  V. 

The  Kind  Corean  Governor 45  • 

5 


6 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PAGE 

Experiences  in  Quelpaert  Island 59 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Journey  to  the  Capital 67 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Captives  in  Seoul 74 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Life  in  the  Southern  Provinces 81 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Escape  to  Japan 99 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Nature  and  People  in  the  Kingdom  of  Corea  . . 110 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Punishments,  Morals,  Festivals  and  Temples  . . 124 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Domestic  Life,  Houses,  Marriage,  Education, 
Mourning  and  Burial 136 


CONTENTS. 


7 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

PAGE 

National  Traits  and  Habits;  Weights  and  Meas- 
ures; Writing;  the  King  and  the  Ambassa- 
dor   148 

PART  III. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Religion 161 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Christianity  and  European  Influences,  1777  to 

1866  172 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  Ever-Memorable  Year  of  1866  182 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Americans  Open  Corea  (1867-82) 191 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Hermit  no  More  (1882-85) 210 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Native  Products  for  Food,  Clothing  and  Com- 
merce   227 

CHAPTER  XXI. 


Corean  Art,  Past  and  Present 


248 


8 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

PAGE 

The  Eight  Provinces 275 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Corea  for  Christ 292 


Appendix 307 

Index 311 


INTRODUCTORY. 


What  Caesar  said  of  Gaul  we  may  apply 
to  the  oldest  continent.  All  Asia  has  been 
divided  into  three  parts — Chinese,  Russian 
and  English.  The  Gauls  themselves  seem 
to  be  adding  a fourth  division  in  Annam, 
making  it  French  Asia. 

Two  portions  of  Chinese  Asia  are  penin- 
sular— Indo-  or  Cochin-China  and  Corea. 
In  both  these  countries  the  French  entered 
first  as  missionaries,  and  in  both  they  have 
attempted  to  be  conquerors.  Gaining  a foot- 
hold in  Indo-China,  in  Corea  they  have 
failed. 

The  peninsular  kingdom  of  Corea  was 
long  believed  to  be  an  island,  and  is  so  rep- 
resented on  old  European  maps,  and  notably 

9 


10 


INTRODUCTORY. 


in  the  early  Dutch  Bibles.  It  is,  however, 
a peninsula,  shaped  somewhat  like  Florida, 
but  with  the  area  of  Minnesota  and  the 
physical  features  of  California.  It  consists 
on  its  eastern  flank  of  a range  of  mountains, 
with  a long  fertile  slope  descending  irregu- 
larly westward  to  the  shallow  waters  of  the 
Yellow  Sea.  It  is  the  stepping-stone  from 
China  to  Japan,  from  continental  Asia  to 
the  island-empire  over  which  the  sun  rises. 

For  centuries  there  was  no  political  unity 
in  the  peninsula,  and  numerous  states  arose 
and  flourished  for  a time,  only  to  fall  and 
make  room  for  new  political  edifices.  Dur- 
ing the  tenth  century,  however,  one  people 
and  one  government  possessed  the  land  from 
the  Ever-white  Mountains  to  the  Eastern 
Sea.  Then  it  was  that  “ Sila,”  as  the  Ara- 
bians pronounced  the  Chinese  name  of  the 
Corean  state  Sin-lo  (or  Sil-lo  by  euphony), 
was  known  to  Arab  geographers.  Mussel- 
mans  who  then  traded  in  Chinese  ports  made 
voyages  to  “ the  land  of  Sila,  which  is  rich 


INTRODUCTORY. 


11 


in  gold.”  These  Westerners  even  settled 
there,  and  thence  exported  ginseng,  cinna- 
mon, aloes,  camphor,  nails,  saddles,  porcelain, 
satin,  deerhorn  and  ginger  to  Bagdad  and 
Damascus. 

Sin-lo  (or,  as  the  Japanese  call  it,  Shin-ra) 
gave  way  to  Kao-li,  or  in  Japanese  Ko-rai. 
When  the  Portuguese  missionaries  came  to 
Japan  in  the  sixteenth  century,  they  wrote 
to  Europe  about  Coria,  whence  we  have  it, 
in  the  English,  Corea. 

Unfortunately  situated  between  the  two 
rival  nations,  China  and  Japan,  what  with 
Chinese  rapacity  and  Japanese  ambition  on 
a national  scale,  and  with  individual  pirates 
from  the  East  and  robbers  from  the  West, 
the  policy  of  self-preservation  gradually  and 
of  necessity  assumed  the  sternest  forms. 
After  bloody  and  devastating  invasions  by 
Chinese,  Tartar  and  Japanese  armies,  which 
reduced  the  country  to  poverty  and  retro- 
gression, this  policy  degenerated  into  one  of 
hermit-like  seclusion.  Tributary  to  both  her 


12 


INTRODUCTORY. 


powerful  neighbors,  she  yet  ever  preserved 
an  attitude  of  armed  neutrality  between  both. 
After  a contest  of  ages  Corea  has  succeeded 
in  maintaining  her  national  life  and  auton- 
omy. While  one  cannot  but  condemn  the 
position  so  long  defiantly  held  by  the  tiny 
kingdom  as  “ the  last  outstanding  and  irrec- 
oncilable scoffer  among  the  nations,”  it  is  but 
fair  to  acknowledge  that  good  cause  existed 
for  such  an  attitude. 

Now,  however,  in  the  year  of  Christ  1884, 
Ta  Cho-sun,  as  the  Coreans  call  their  coun- 
try, has  abandoned  the  conditions  of  national 
hermitage.  Opened  by  American  diplomacy, 
moored  by  the  electric  cable  to  the  rest  of 
the  world,  bound  by  treaty  to  further  acts  of 
comity,  her  envoys  visiting  the  United  States, 
her  once-secluded  capital  the  seat  of  the  le- 
gations of  the  United  States,  Great  Britain, 
Germany,  Japan  and  China,  her  people 
studying  Christianity  in  Japan,  her  ports 
open  to  American  and  European  commerce, 
and  the  beginnings  of  a foreign  municipality 


INTRODUCTORY. 


13 


at  the  seaport  nearest  the  capital,  which  will 
give  her  people  an  object-lesson  in  Western 
civilization, — the  future  of  Corea  seems  bright 
with  promise,  and  certainly  is  full  of  interest. 

Into  the  seclusion  of  this  Land  of  Morn- 
ing Calm  few  European  travelers  have  ever 
penetrated.  The  Dutch  supercargo  and  his 
companions  in  the  seventeenth  century  spent 
thirteen  years  among  these  strange  people. 
In  this  nineteenth  century,  until  within  a 
decade,  the  French  missionaries  in  disguise 
and  a few  shipwrecked  sailors,  chiefly  Amer- 
ican, were  the  only  persons  hailing  from 
Christendom  who  have  observed  Corean  life. 
Even  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  of  the  Mid- 
dle Ages,  except  in  war-time  or  in  the  reti- 
nues of  diplomacy,  rarely  saw  the  inside  of 
Corea.  As  with  the  lion’s  cave  in  the  fable, 
all  the  footsteps  pointed  one  way — “ Nulla 
vestigia  retrorsum.” 

There  are  Dutch,  French  and  American 
graves  in  Corea.  Wherever  a fragment  of 
our  national  treasures  lie,  our  hearts  should 


14 


INTRODUCTORY. 


be ; and  the  object  of  the  Editor  of  this  work 
is  to  interest  American  readers,  and  especial- 
ly American  Christians,  in  what  the  French 
priests  call  “ the  land  of  martyrs.” 

The  journal  of  Hendrik  Hamel,  who  in 
1653,  on  his  way  to  Nagasaki,  Japan,  was 
shipwrecked  on  Quelpaert  Island,  is  here- 
with reprinted  with  explanatory  notes.  These, 
with  introductory  and  supplementary  histor- 
ical chapters,  will,  the  Editor  trusts,  give  the 
reader  a bird’s-eye  glance  of  Corea  past  and 
present,  and  views  from  without  and  within. 

W.  E.  G. 

Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  1 
Dec.  6,  1884.  j 


NOTE  TO  SECOND  EDITION. 

In  this  second  edition  some  minor  errors  pointed 
out  by  kind  correspondents  in  Corea  have  been  cor- 
rected, and  a few  lines  of  freshest  information  added 
in  the  final  pages. 

W.  E.  G. 

Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  \ 

Oct.  12,  1885.  / 


COREA. 


PART  I. 

CHAPTER  I. 

WHO  ARE  THE  CO  REA  NS? 

The  Oldest  Teaditions  axd  the  Dawn  of  History. 

T70R  the  fountains  of  the  stream  of  Corean 
history  we  must  look,  first,  westward  to 
China,  and  next  northward  to  the  Amoor 
Valley  and  the  highlands  of  Manchuria. 
The  one  stream  of  influences  is  literary,  the 
other  is  political.  The  first  concerns  the 
origin  of  civilization,  the  other  relates  to 
blood  and  race. 

On  the  overthrow  of  the  Chow  dynasty 
of  feudal  China,  1122  b.  c.,  the  viscount  (tsze) 
of  the  petty  fief  or  state  of  Ki  preferred  to 
remain  loyal  to  his  old  master  of  the  house 
of  Chow  rather  than  to  pay  court  to  the  new 
usurper.  Ki-tsze  therefore  emigrated  with 

15 


16 


COREA. 


five  thousand  followers  to  the  north-east. 
Well  received  by  the  aborigines,  he  founded 
a kingdom  on  the  principles  of  Chinese  feu- 
dalism, and  civilized  the  inhabitants  by  in- 
troducing letters,  the  arts,  medicine  and  agri- 
culture. He  named  his  dominions  Cho-sen,1 
which  means  Fresh  Morning  or  Calm  of 
Dawn.  The  Japanese  also  call  their  country 
Chd-ka,  Home  of  the  Morning. 

The  name  of  this  founder  of  a nation,  who 
is  also  an  ancestor  of  Confucius,  is  in  Chinese 
Ki-tsze ; in  Corean,  Kys-se  ; in  Japanese,  Ki- 
slii.  If  Latinized,  like  the  names  Confucius 
and  Mencius,  it  would  be  Kicius. 

The  people  of  modern  Corea  claim  Ki-tsze 
as  the  father  of  their  country,  and  ostenta- 
tiously profess  a civilization  nearly  as  old  as 
that  of  China  and  more  ancient  than  that  of 
Chaldea. 

Just  where  the  scene  of  Ki-tsze’s  labors 
lies  is  not  certainly  known.  Some  writers 

1 The  Coreans  whom  the  writer  met  in  New  York  last  No- 
vember pronounced  this  name  Cho-sfln,  but  the  older  and  more 
familiar  spelling  of  the  ancient  name  is  retained  in  the  text. 
Like  most  nations  imitating  China,  they  prefix  the  honorific 
Ta  or  Tai.  Ta  means  whole,  or  all ; Tai  means  great.  Tai 
Cho-sun  is  the  Great  Land  of  Morning  Calm. 


WHO  ARE  THE  CO  REA  NS? 


17 


place  it  in  the  modern  Chinese  province  of 
Shing-king,  which  borders  Corea  on  the 
west.  Others,  more  critical,  locate  it  farther 
north,  in  the  valley  of  the  Sungari,  or  even 
in  that  of  the  great  Amoor  River.  The 
story  of  Ki-tsze’s  migration  does  not  wholly 
satisfy  rigid  examination,  but  it  is  probable. 

However,  a kingdom  known  as  Cho-sen 
and  ruled  by  princes  claiming  descent  from 
Ki-tsze,  the  kinsman  of  Confucius,  certainly 
existed  in  the  region  north-east  of  Peking, 
and  came  to  an  end  about  the  opening  of 
the  Christian  era.  Its  area  fluctuated  greatly 
at  different  periods,  and  only  for  a time  was 
any  portion  of  modern  Corea  included  within 
its  boundaries.  It  was  finally  swallowed  up 
by  China  and  annexed  to  that  colossal 
empire. 


Let  us  now  glance  northward  to  what  may 
have  been  the  scene  of  Ki-tsze’s  labors. 

Ages  ago,  says  Chinese  tradition,  there 
existed  in  the  valley  of  the  [Amoor]  River 
a petty  kingdom  named  Kao-li.  A concu- 
bine of  the  king,  conceiving  by  means  of  a 


18 


COREA. 


ray  of  light,  bore  a son,  who,  at  first  rejected 
by  the  king,  thrown  to  the  pigs  and  then 
suckled  by  a mare,  grew  to  be  a vigorous 
youth,  and  became  an  archer  so  renowned 
that  the  royal  jealousy  was  excited.  Fleeing 
southward  until  he  reached  the  impassable 
Sungari  River,  the  youth  invoked  the  aid 
of  his  progenitor,  the  Sun,  for  assistance. 
Shooting  his  arrows  into  the  flood,  shoals  of 
fishes  gathered  in  one  place  and  made  a 
bridge  for  him,  on  which  he  crossed  to  the 
opposite  shore,  and  thus  baffled  his  pursuers. 
Three  men — dressed  one  in  seaweed,  one  in 
hemp  and  one  in  embroidered  robes  (fisher, 
farmer  and  noble) — welcomed  him  and  led 
him  to  their  capital  city,  where  he  was  made 
king  of  the  country.  This  was  the  king- 
dom of  Fuyu 

Fuyu,  as  described  later  in  the  writings  of 
a Chinese  historian,  was  a fertile  land  lying 
between  the  Sungari  River  and  the  Ever- 
white  Mountains.  It  was  occupied  by  serfs, 
landholders  and  nobles,  all  living  in  fortified 
cities  and  under  feudal  institutions.  These 
brave  highlanders,  expert  horsemen,  well  fed 
and  clothed,  were  possessed  of  considerable 


WHO  ARE  THE  COREANSt 


19 


literary  culture  and  political  knowledge.  In 
brief,  if  letters  mark  the  boundary  between 
civilization  and  savagery,  they  were  a civil- 
ized people.  They  were  the  first  people  of 
Asia  to  emerge  from  the  desert  under  the 
feudal  forms  of  organization. 

Such  phenomena  seem  to  imply  and  neces- 
sitate the  prerequisite  of  a teacher  of  civiliza- 
tion— of  some  master  mind  and  influence — 
or  else  close  contact  with  a highly-civilized 
nation.  Yet  Fuyu  was  too  distant  from 
China  for  such  effects  so  early  in  history, 
and  the  feudalism  of  Fuyu,  when  made 
known  to  Chinese  writers,  was  existing  cen- 
turies after  feudal  institutions  had  vanished 
from  China.  These  considerations  lead  some 
to  suppose  that  the  scene  of  Ki-tsze’s  labors 
was  in  Fuyu,  or  possibly  in  the  half-mythical 
kingdom  of  Kao-li,  the  Japanese  Ivo-rai. 

Out  of  this  ancestral  home-land  of  Fuyu  a 
few  families,  emigrating  southwardly,  formed 
Kao-ku-li  (Japanese,  Ko-ko-rai).  In  their 
social  and  political  features  these  people  were 
much  like  those  of  Fuyu,  but  less  agricultu- 
ral and  more  given  to  horses  and  cattle.  As 
early  as  9 a.  d.  they  became  tributaries  and 


20 


COREA. 


allies  of  the  Chinese,  but  as  they  grew  in 
strength  they  made  raids  inside  the  Great 
Wall  and  set  their  former  allies  the  Chinese 
at  defiance.  They  also  crossed  the  Yalu 
River,  and  gradually  overspread  the  north- 
western part  of  the  Corean  peninsula.  Once 
inside  what  is  now  Corea,  these  Northerners 
came  to  stay.  Increasing  in  wealth  and 
numbers,  they  were  not  only  able  to  keep 
the  Chinese  at  bay,  but  also  to  encroach 
upon  their  neighbors  inside  the  peninsula 
and  to  send  colonies  over  to  Japan.  Drop- 
ping a syllable  from  their  country’s  name, 
they  called  it  Ko-rai.  By  the  sixth  century 
they  occupied  the  country  around  the  Gulf 
of  Liau  Tung  and  the  Corean  peninsula  as 
far  south  as  the  Han  River,  and  numbered 
probably  three  or  four  millions  of  souls. 

During  the  period  of  anarchy  and  civil 
war  in  China  from  the  second  to  the  sixth 
century  the  Ko-raians  throve,  being  but 
slightly  molested  from  the  West;  but  during 
the  Sui  (589-618  a.  d.)  and  the  Tang  (618- 
905  a.  d.)  dynasties  of  China  they  sustained 
mighty  invasions  by  Chinese  armies.  The 
determined  policy  of  the  emperors  was  to 


WHO  ARE  THE  CORE  A NS? 


21 


crush  and  annex  Ko-rai.  After  many 
bloody  battles  and  sieges,  which  have  made 
Southern  Manchuria  historic  ground,  Ko-rai 
was  politically  extinguished  and  became  a 
province  of  the  Chinese  empire.  After 
twenty-eight  generations  and  a rule  of  seven 
hundred  years,  the  line  of  kings  of  Ko-rai 
came  to  an  end  in  a.  d.  665,  and  their  sceptre 
departed  from  them  until  that  renascence  of 
their  prestige  which,  in  the  tenth  century, 
gave  political  unity  to  the  whole  peninsula. 

The  Fuvu  and  Ko-rai  people  are  the  an- 
cestors of  the  modern  Coreans,  and  most 
probably  of  the  Japanese  also.  Unlike  most 
of  the  Asiatic  tribes  (Huns,  Turks,  Mongols), 
who  in  migrating  set  their  faces  westward, 
the  Fuyu  people  turned  to  the  south,  and 
then  faced  the  rising  sun  into  Corea  and 
Japan,  settling  the  peninsula  and  in  part,  at 
least,  the  archipelago. 

In  their  physical  appearance  the  modern 
Coreans  bear  out  the  theory  of  their  descent 
as  intimated  above.  They  are  less  “ Mongo- 
lian ” in  the  cast  of  their  features  than  the 
Chinese,  while  they  are  larger  and  more 
heavily  built  than  the  Japanese. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  THREE  KINGDOMS  AND  KO-RAI. 

THUS  far,  we  have  looked  only  at  that  part 
of  the  peninsula  north  of  the  Han  River. 
South  of  this  water-line  and  along  the  shores 
of  the  Japan  Sea,  three  independent  nations 
or  congeries  of  tribes  were  known  to  Chinese 
historians  before  the  Christian  era.  Of  their 
origin  we  as  yet  know  little  or  nothing.  Un- 
der the  influence  of  Chinese  culture  and 
Buddhism  they  attained  by  the  sixth  cen- 
tury a considerable  measure  of  civilization. 
Ma-han  and  Ben-han,  two  of  these  leagues 
or  nations,  became  one,  called  Sin-lo  (Japan- 
ese, Shin-ra),  and  with  Ko-rai  in  the  north 
the  epoch  of  the  “ Three  Kingdoms  ” began. 

These  three  states  were  Ko-rai  in  the 
north,  Sin-lo  (or  Shin-ra)  in  the  south-east 
and  Pe-tsi  (or  Hiaksai)  in  the  west.  They 
were  rivals,  and  often  fought  against  each 
other.  They  also  made  wars  and  alliances 
22 


THE  THREE  KINGDOMS  AND  KO-RAI.  23 


with  China  or  Japan  as  suited  their  interests 
or  necessities.  Until  the  ninth  or  tenth  cen- 
tury their  history  seems  to  be  but  a maze  of 
civil  and  foreign  wars,  yet  civilization  pro- 
gressed and  the  culture  received  from  China 
was  transmitted  to  Japan.  Like  Cyprus  be- 
tween Egypt  and  Greece,  Corea  forms  the 
link  between  Chinese  and  Japanese  civiliza- 
tion— the  old  and  the  new. 

“ Like  the  three  kingdoms  of  England, 
Scotland  and  Wales,  called  also  Britannia, 
Caledonia  and  Cambria,  these  Corean  states 
were  distinct  in  origin,  were  conquered  by  a 
race  from  without,  received  a rich  infusion 
of  alien  blood,  struggled  in  rivalry  for  cen- 
turies, and  were  finally  united  in  one  nation 
with  one  flag  and  one  sovereign.” 1 

After  the  political  suppression  of  Ko-rai 
and  its  practical  annexation  to  China,  the 
predominant  state  in  the  Corean  peninsula 
was  Sin-lo,  though  in  blood  and  race  the 
mass  of  the  people  wrere,  very  probably,  of 
Ko-raian  stock. 

For  two  centuries,  from  the  ninth  to  the 
eleventh,  there  was  calm  “ within  the  four 

1 Corea,  the  Hermit  Nation,  p.  34. 


24 


COREA. 


seas”  and  the  people  enjoyed  the  sweets  of 
peace.  During  this  period  it  may  be  said  of 
this  corner  of  the  world,  “ Happy  is  the 
nation  that  has  no  history,”  for  about  all 
that  we  know  of  Corea’s  annals  during  this 
period  are  the  names  of  the  kings  and  the 
duration  of  their  reigns. 

In  912  a.  d.  a Buddhist  monk  living  in 
the  north-eastern  part  of  the  peninsula,  near 
the  shores  of  the  Sea  of  Japan,  raised  the 
flag  of  rebellion  against  the  decaying  house 
of  Sin-lo,  and  the  uprising  quickly  extended 
over  the  country.  Wang-hien,  in  whose 
veins  ran  the  blood  of  the  old  kings  of  Ko- 
rai,  put  the  monk  to  death  and  took  the  lead 
himself.  He  overthrew  the  ruling  dynasty 
and  brought  the  whole  peninsula  under  his 
sceptre.  He  fixed  his  capital  at  Sun-to  (now 
called  Kai-seng),  a few  miles  north-east  of 
Seoul,  and  restored  the  old  name,  Ko-rai, 
which  became  the  symbol  of  united  Corea 
and  the  name  of  the  entire  peninsula. 

In  a quarrel  with  the  Kitan  Tartars,  who 
occupied  the  country  west  of  the  Yalu  River, 
the  latter  “ rectified  ” their  frontier  by  an- 
nexing the  land  formerly  considered  a part 


THE  THREE  KINGDOMS  AND  KO-RAI.  25 


of  the  peninsular  kingdom.  Henceforward, 
the  boundaries  of  Corea  remained  stationary, 
and  have  never  extended  beyond  those  with 
which  the  Western  World  is  familiar.  In 
Manchuria,  on  Chinese  soil,  Gauli  Chan 
(Ko-rai  Village)  still  witnesses  by  its  name 
to  former  Corean  possessions  west  of  the 
Yalu  River. 

Four  centuries  of  peace  and  national  de- 
velopment followed,  and  the  era  of  Ko-rai 
was  the  most  brilliant  in  the  history  of  this 
people.  The  customs  and  institutions  of 
feudalism  gradually  gave  way  before  a cen- 
tralized system  of  monarchy,  with  a “ cabi- 
net ” of  boards  or  ministries  which  was 
copied  from  that  organized  by  the  Tang  em- 
perors of  China. 

The  country  was  divided  into  eight  do  or 
circuits,  each  ruled  by  a Tcam-sa  or  governor. 
Buddhism  became  the  established  religion, 
and  many  beautiful  temples,  pagodas  and 
monasteries  were  erected.  Trade  with  the 
Chinese  and  Japanese  developed  the  internal 
wealth  of  the  country.  The  Chinese  fleet 
which  in  1122  a.  d.  brought  the  ambassador 
of  the  emperor  to  visit  his  vassal  the  king  of 


26 


COREA. 


Ko-rai  steered  its  course  from  Nanking  by 
the  magnetic  needle,  and  thus  introduced  the 
mariner’s  compass  into  Corea.  Sons  of  Co- 
rean  noblemen  went  back  to  Nanking  to  study 
the  Chinese  arts  and  literature.  The  revival 
of  letters  and  the  influence  of  the  brilliant 
literary  period  of  the  Sung  dynasty  (960— 
1333  a.  d.)  in  China  reacted  on  the  peninsu- 
lars, creating  much  activity  among  native 
scholars  and  laying  the  foundation  of  that 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  Chinese  classics 
for  which  educated  Coreans  are  noted.  The 
typographic  press  was  introduced  from  China, 
and  thousands  of  books  were  printed  from 
blocks  of  wood  cut  with  raised  letters.  The 
Corean  alphabet  came  into  general  use,  and 
something  like  popular  education  was  preva- 
lent. This  was  also  the  most  flourishing 
period  of  Corean  art. 

Two  centuries  of  peaceful  progress  slipped 
away,  and  then  Corea  was  desolated  by  the 
Mongols,  who,  under  Genghis  and  Khublai 
Khan,  were  conquering  the  world.  Corea 
was  made  the  basis  of  operations  against 
Japan,  but  the  great  armada  which  from  her 
shores  sailed  so  gallantly  toward  the  rising 


THE  THREE  KINGDOMS  AND  KO-RAI.  27 

sun  was  repulsed  by  “ the  Divine  Breath  ” of 
tempests  and  the  valor  of  the  Japanese.  The 
only  result  was  to  breed  more  bitter  hatred 
between  the  islanders  and  the  peninsulars. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  LAND  OF  MORNING  CALM. 


ISTURBANCES  in  the  sun  are  apt  to 


-E'  produce  similar  results  in  the  planets. 
Revolutionary  events  in  China,  the  Middle 
Kingdom,  induce  political  changes  in  the 
surrounding  satellite  nations. 

The  fall  of  the  Mongols,  a foreign,  and  the 
rise  and  establishment  of  the  Mings,  a native 
Chinese,  dynasty  exerted  a profound  influ- 
ence on  Corean  politics.  The  royal  line  had 
become  effete,  abuses  of  power  abounded  and 
popular  feeling  against  the  court  rose  to 


The  “ man  on  horseback  ” for  the  occasion 
was  Ni  Taijo,  a native  of  the  north-east  and 
born  near  the  modern  treaty-port  of  Wen- 
shan.  Through  his  influence  Corea  was  re- 
fused as  a refuge  to  the  fugitive  Mongols,  the 
Mings  were  recognized  as  the  rulers  of  China 
and  tribute  was  paid  to  them.  The  king 


flood 


28 


THE  LAND  OF  MORNING  CALM. 


29 


protesting,  Ni  Taijo  deposed  him,  sent  him 
prisoner  to  Kang-wa  Island  and  extinguished 
the  Ko-raian  dynasty  by  removing  from  their 
place  the  royal  ancestral  tablets. 

Ni  Taijo  was  then  declared  king,  and  in- 
vestiture was  duly  given  by  the  emperor  of 
China,  a.  d.  1392.  He  suppressed  Ko-rai, 
and  renamed  the  kingdom  Ta  Cho-sun,  or 
Great  [Land  of]  Morning  Calm.  He  estab- 
lished the  capital  or  Seoul  at  Han-yang  on 
the  Han  River,  making  the  main  thorough- 
fares very  broad,  and  building  round  it  a 
wall  about  fifteen  miles  in  circumference. 
Following  the  natural  boundaries  of  rivers 
and  mountains,  he  rearranged  the  eight  do 
or  provinces  on  the  basis  of  the  river-basins 
of  the  peninsula.  He  disestablished  Buddh- 
ism and  made  the  doctrines  of  Confucius 
the  state  religion.  He  also  adopted  “ civil- 
service  reform  ” by  making  appointments  to 
office  rest  on  personal  merit,  as  shown  in 
competitive  literary  examinations.  The  cos- 
tume of  the  people  underwent  a change,  and 
white  became  the  universal  color  of  dress. 
The  styles  of  hats  and  hair-dressing  also 
became  fixed  in  their  present  condition. 


30 


COREA. 


Literature  flourished,  and  the  art  of  print- 
ing by  cast  and  movable  metal  types  was  in- 
vented and  came  into  frequent  use. 

A real  cho-sen  (morning  freshness)  of 
spirit  had  dawned  upon  the  nation,  and  two 
centuries  of  quiet  followed.  Then  the  re- 
laxation and  enervation  which  luxury  always 
brings  began  to  show  their  sure  effects. 
Military  science  and  exercises  were  neglect- 
ed and  the  castles  and  fortifications  fell  into 
ruin.  The  Japanese  pirates  began  to  ravage 
the  coasts  and  to  pillage  even  inland  cities. 
In  1592,  Tailed,  the  ambitious  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  armies  of  Japan,  pretexting 
arrears  of  tribute  and  a desire  to  humble 
China,  sent  large  detachments  to  invade  the 
peninsula. 

Two  army  corps,  under  the  rival  com- 
manders Konishi  and  Kato,  landed  at  Fusan 
on  the  25th  and  26th  of  May,  and  began  a 
race  to  the  Corean  capital,  conquering  the 
fortresses  by  the  way,  the  san-siang  or  moun- 
tain-forts being  the  most  difficult  to  take. 
The  rival  corps,  after  forced  marches  of  eigh- 
teen days,  entered  Seoul  by  different  gates  on 
the  13th  of  June,  1592. 


Sf*oiil,  the  Coroan  Capital. 


/ 


THE  LAND  OF  MORNING  CALM. 


31 


The  main  work  of  the  campaign  was  now 
transferred  to  the  north,  to  Ping-an,  under 
Ivonishi.  While  Japanese  divisions  under 
Kuroda  overran  the  southern  provinces,  Iva- 
to  occupied  Ham-kiung  and  the  north-east, 
taking  prisoner  two  of  the  princes  of  the 
blood.  The  Chinese  sent  large  contingents 
to  help  the  Coreans,  and  many  bloody  battles 
were  fought  and  castles  taken.  Gunpowder 
and  artillery  were  used,  the  Coreans  invent- 
ing bombshells.  The  Japanese  fleet,  having 
been  beaten  by  the  Coreans,  left  the  invading 
armies  so  far  from  their  base  of  supplies  that, 
after  burning  Seoul,  they  retreated  in  the 
early  summer  of  1593  to  Fusan.  Three  years 
of  inactivity  and  fruitless  diplomacy  between 
Peking  and  Kioto  followed. 

The  second  invasion  by  the  Japanese  took 
place  in  1597,  one  corps  striking  northward 
from  Fusan,  and  the  other  landing  in  the 
south-western  province,  named  Chulla-do, 
and,  advancing  on  the  castle  of  Nan-on,  the 
victorious  columns  effected  a junction  near 
Seoul  and  marched  to  within  seventeen  miles 
of  the  city;  but,  hearing  of  the  loss  of  their 
fleet  and  the  great  Chinese  reinforcements  in 


32 


COREA. 


Seoul,  “ their  hearts  became  cold  in  their 
bosoms  ” and  they  retreated  to  the  coast. 
After  the  long  siege  of  Uru-san  Castle,  last- 
ing nearly  a year,  by  an  immense  allied 
army  of  Chinese  and  Coreans,  a great  battle 
was  fought,  and  the  Japanese  garrison  was 
relieved ; but  the  death  of  Taiko  soon  after 
taking  place,  the  invaders  were  called  home. 
They  departed,  taking  with  them  immense 
spoils  from  the  monasteries,  temples,  libraries 
and  houses  of  the  Coreans.  Seven  years  of 
war,  pillage,  famine  and  fire,  and  the  main- 
tenance of  two  foreign  armies  on  her  soil, 
wasted  Corea  beyond  measure.  Probably  a 
million  of  her  people  died  of  wounds,  hun- 
ger and  the  diseases  of  war  during  this  awful 
period.  From  this  war  she  has  never  re- 
covered.1 

Some  notable  results,  however,  followed. 
Tobacco  was  introduced  by  the  Japanese, 
cotton2  came  into  more  general  use  and  cul- 

1 See  chapters  xii.-xix.  in  Corea,  the  Hermit.  Nation. 

2 The  white  cotton  dress  is  universal  throughout  the  country 
— thin  in  summer  and  padded  in  winter.  Dresses  of  ceremony 
or  rank  have  various  parts  in  colors  of  silk  or  hempen  mate- 
rial. An  English  traveler  in  Seoul  in  1884  thus  writes:  “It  is 
altogether  a strange  country,  this  Hermit  Kingdom.  The  pale, 


THE  LAND  OF  MORNING  CALM. 


33 


ture,  and  gunpowder  was  henceforth  one  of 
the  standard  munitions  of  war. 

Christianity  was  not  planted  at  this  time, 
though  Cespedes,  a Portuguese  friar,  acted 
for  a while  as  chaplain  to  the  many  thousands 
of  Homan  Catholic  Japanese  troops,  while 
Konishi  and  other  Christian  generals,  who 
took  back  to  Japan  a number  of  young 
Coreans  of  gentle  birth,  had  them  educated 
in  the  faith  of  Mary. 

Though  earnest  efforts  were  made  by  Co- 
rean  patriots  to  revive  the  military  spirit  of 
the  people,  little  was  accomplished  in  the 
way  of  preparation  to  ward  off  the  next 
national  calamity  that  fell  upon  them  within 
a generation  after  the  Japanese  scourge. 

The  new  affliction  came  out  of  the  north, 
from  behind  the  Ever-white  Mountains.  In 
the  same  old  ancestral  seats  of  the  ancient 
Fuyu  people  a nation  had  risen  out  of  the 


monotonous  colors  affected  by  the  common  people  in  their  dress, 
the  noiseless  way  in  which  they  move  about,  the  total  lack  of 
wheeled  vehicles,  the  absence  of  street-cries,  or,  indeed,  of 
shouting  of  any  sort, — have  a most  weird  effect ; and  as  one 
passes  through  the  white-clad,  silent  multitude  one  almost  finds 
himself  wondering  whether  it  is  all  real,  and  whether  one  has 
not  been  suddenly  transported  into  dreamland.” 


34 


COREA. 


compacted  tribes.  Calling  themselves  Man- 
chius, they  were  slowly  but  surely  descending 
to  the  conquest  of  China.  To  conquer  Corea 
was  merely  work  by  the  way.  The  Chinese 
emperor  called  upon  his  vassal  the  Corean 
king  for  a contingent  of  twenty  thousand  men 
to  assist  his  legions  on  the  frontier  against  the 
invading  Manchius,  in  return  for  help  given 
the  latter  a few  years  before  against  the  Jap- 
anese. This  and  other  events  brought  the 
Manchius  into  collision  with  Corea. 

Crossing  the  frozen  Yalu  River  in  Febru- 
ary, 1627,  these  northern  hordes  took  the 
kingdom  by  surprise,  and  soon  overran  it, 
the  Coreans  fleeing  before  their  disciplined 
foes  as  sheep  before  wolves. 

Fresh  provocations  brought  the  fierce 
Manchius  again  into  Corea  in  1637.  The 
king  and  his  court  fled  to  the  Kang-wa  Is- 
land fortress.  The  invaders  first  captured 
Seoul,  after  severe  and  bloody  fighting,  and 
then,  with  land  and  water  forces  and  pro- 
vided with  artillery,  they  invested  Kang-wa. 
Before  many  days  they  compelled  the  king 
to  capitulate  and  bind  himself  to  pay  heavy 
tribute  four  times  a year  to  the  Tartar  khan, 


TEE  LAND  OF  MORNING  CALM. 


35 


or  Manchiu  emperor,  wlio  was  now  enthroned 
in  Peking  as  ruler  of  all  the  Chinas. 

Erecting  an  altar,  Tartar  and  Corean  alike 
worshiped  Heaven,  while  the  conquerors 
compelled  the  conquered  to  perform  the  kow- 
tow (nine  prostrations,  with  the  forehead 
touching  the  ground)  and  to  praise  the  clem- 
ency of  the  Tartar  general  in  sparing  their 
lives. 

Aside  from  the  entrance  at  stated  times  of 
the  imperial  envoy  to  collect  the  tribute,  and 
the  annual  embassy  of  Corean  nobles  to  Pe- 
king to  do  homage  to  “ the  Great  Khan,” 
the  internal  politics  of  “ the  little  outpost 
state  ” were  not  interfered  with  by  the  Chi- 
nese government. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  Corea  when 
“ the  unlucky  voyage  ” of  the  Dutch  ship 
Spar-wehr  in  1653  accidentally  cast  upon 
the  shores  of  this  inhospitable  peninsula  the 
first  Europeans  who  returned  to  tell  the  story 
of  their  captivity  and  travels. 

The  Dutch  East  India  Company  at  this 
time  had  factories  or  trading-stations  in  the 
Malay  Archipelago,  in  Formosa,  and  at  Na- 
gasaki, Japan.  The  Spar-wehr  (Sparrow- 


36 


COREA. 


liawk),  one  of  their  ships,  commanded  by 
Captain  Egbertz,  was  bound  for  the  latter 
port,  via  Batavia  and  Tai-wan  in  Formosa. 
Hamel,  our  narrator,  was  “ secretary  ” or  su- 
percargo, whose  quaint  and  racy  account  we 
now  proceed  to  give  in  the  words  of  his 
Narrative. 


PART  II. 

HAMEL’S  XARRATLVE. 


CHAPTER  IY. 

HAMEL’S  SHIPWRECK  IN  COREA } 

E sailed  out  of  the  Texel  on  the  10th 


of  January,  1653,  in  the  evening,  with 
a very  fair  gale,  and  after  many  storms  and 
much  foul  weather  came  to  an  anchor  on  the 
1st  of  June  in  the  roadstead  of  Batavia.2  As 
soon  as  we  had  refreshed  ourselves  there  for 
a few  days,  the  governor-general  of  the  India 
Company  commanded  us  away  to  Tai-wan,3 

1 Three  Dutch  editions  of  Hamel’s  Nnrative  of  an  Unlucky 
Voyage  and  Shipwreck  on  the  Coast  of  Corea  are  known,  of  which 
translations  appeared  in  French,  English  and  German.  Of  the 
two  in  English  dress,  we  have  selected  that  found  in  Churchill’s 
Collection  of  Voyages,  London,  1732.  Only  slight  alterations  in 
the  text  have  been  made  in  tiie  present  edition,  such  as  the  re- 
placement of  elided  letters,  the  substitution  of  modern  for  ob- 
solete words,  and  of  the  more  familiar  orthography  in  all  cases 
after  the  first  appearance  in  the  text  of  the  uncouth  and  un- 
familiar orthography  of  places ; as,  for  instance,  Seoul  for  Sior, 
etc. 

1 In  Java,  the  capital  of  the  Netherlands  Indies. 

3 Tai-wan  (Terrace  Bay)  is  the  Chinese  term  for  the  beautiful 
large  island  which  the  Portuguese,  from  its  shapely  outlines, 
called  Formosa.  The  Dutch,  driving  away  the  Portuguese  set- 


37 


38 


COREA. 


and  accordingly  we  set  sail  the  14th  of  the 
same  month  in  our  ship  called  the  Sparrow- 
hawk.  We  carried  aboard  us  Min  Heer  Cor- 
nelius Lessen,  to  take  possession  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  Tai-wan  and  Formosa,  with  their 
dependencies,  in  place  of  Min  Heer  Nicholas 
Verburge,  who  had  resided  there  three  years, 
according  to  custom.  We  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  come  to  an  anchor  at  Tai-wan  on  the 
16th  of  July.  Min  Heer  Lessen  immediately 
landed,  and  caused  our  ship  to  be  unloaded. 

Then,  having  advised  with  the  council,  he 
ordered  us  to  Japan ; in  pursuance  whereof, 
having  our  loading  and  discharge,  we  put  to 
sea  again  on  the  30th  of  the  same  month. 
The  next  day  held  fair  until  toward  the 
evening,  when,  as  we  were  getting  out  of  the 


tiers  in  1624,  built  the  fort  Zeelandia,  near  which  the  city  of 
Tai-wan-fu  has  grown  up,  and  ruled  large  portions  of  the  island 
for  thirty-seven  years.  They  were  driven  away  or  massacred 
by  Coxinga,  a Chinese  freebooter,  in  1661,  and  in  1682  the  island 
formally  became  part  of  the  Chinese  empire.  The  Japanese 
Christians,  fleeing  from  persecutions  at  home,  settled  in  Formosa 
from  1620  onward;  whence,  in  1874,  the  claim  of  the  Tokio 
government  of  the  right  of  Japanese  troops  to  land  on  the  island 
to  chastise  the  Butan  savages,  and  the  virtual  acknowledgment 
of  the  claim  by  China  in  the  payment  of  a heavy  indemnity  to 
the  Japanese. 


HAMEL’S  SHIPWRECK  IN  COREA.  39 


channel  of  Formosa,  there  arose  a storm, 
which  increased  all  night. 

On  the  1st  of  August,  in  the  morning 
early,  we  perceived  a small  island  very  near 
us;  we  used  our  utmost  endeavors  to  get 
under  shelter  of  it  and  find  some  place  to 
cast  anchor,  for  in  most  parts  of  that  sea 
there  is  no  bottom  to  be  found.  However, 
we  compassed  our  design,  though  with  much 
difficulty,  because  we  were  afraid  to  come 
near  a floating  timber  that  burnt  close  by  us. 
Our  pilot,  fortunately  looking  out,  had  dis- 
covered that  island,  otherwise  we  had  been 
lost,  for  we  were  not  above  a musket-shot 
from  it.  The  fog  clearing  up  and  the  day 
growing  bright,  we  found  ourselves  so  near 
the  coast  of  China  that  we  could  easily  dis- 
cover armed  men  scattered  along  the  shore, 
expecting  to  make  their  advantage  of  our 
wreck.  But,  God  be  praised,  they  missed 
of  their  aim,  though  the  storm  increased 
rather  than  diminished.  There  we  continued 
all  that  day  at  an  anchor  in  sight  of  them, 
as  also  the  night  following. 

The  next  day,  the  wind  falling,  we  ob- 
served that  the  number  of  the  Chinese  was 


40 


COREA. 


much  increased,  which  made  us  stand  upon 
our  guard,  resolving  to  remove  further  from 
them  as  soon  as  possible,  but  were  hindered 
by  a calm  which  lasted  all  day  and  next 
night. 

The  third  day  we  perceived  the  storm  had 
driven  us  twenty  leagues  from  our  course,  so 
that  we  were  again  in  sight  of  the  island  of 
Formosa.  We  plied  betwixt  that  island  and 
the  continent,  the  weather  somewhat  cold ; 
and  what  troubled  us  worst  was,  that  the 
uncertain  winds  and  calms  kept  us  in  that 
channel  until  the  11th  of  that  month,  when 
a south-west  wind  grew  into  a storm,  with  a 
heavy  rain,  and  forced  us  to  run  north-east 
by  east.  The  three  following  days  the  wea- 
ther continued  still  more  tempestuous,  and 
the  wind  shifted  so  often  that  we  were  con- 
tinually hoisting  and  lowering  our  sails.  By 
this  time  the  frequent  heatings  of  the  sea  had 
much  weakened  our  vessel,  and  the  continued 
rain  obstructed  our  making  any  observation  ; 
for  which  reason  we  were  forced  to  take  in 
all  our  sails,  strike  the  yards  and  commit 
ourselves  to  the  mercy  of  the  waves. 

On  the  15th  the  wind  blew  so  boisterously 


HAMEL’S  SHIPWRECK  IN  COREA. 


41 


that  we  could  not  hear  one  another  speak, 
nor  durst  we  let  fly  an  inch  of  sail ; and,  to 
add  to  our  misfortunes,  the  ship  took  in  so 
much  water  that  there  was  no  mastering  of 
it.  Besides,  the  waves  broke  in  upon  us  in 
such  manner  that  we  expected  to  perish 
every  minute.  That  night  our  boat  and  the 
greater  part  of  our  gallery  were  carried 
away,  which  shook  our  bolt-sprit  and  made 
us  fear  we  should  lose  our  prow.  All  possi- 
ble means  were  used  to  repair  the  damage 
sustained  and  prevent  the  ill  consequences  it 
might  produce  ; hut  in  vain,  for  the  gusts  of 
wind  were  too  violent  and  came  too  close  one 
upon  another,  besides  the  breaking  of  the 
waves,  which  were  ready  to  sink  us  every 
moment. 

At  length,  finding  there  was  no  way  to 
save  ourselves  but  by  abandoning  the  vessel 
and  the  Company’s  goods,  we  resolved  to 
loose  a foretop-sail,  the  better  to  avoid  the 
greater  surges.  Whilst  we  were  thus  ern- 
ployed,  a wave  coming  over  our  stern  had 
like  to  have  washed  away  all  the  seamen 
that  were  on  the  deck,  and  filled  the  ship 
so  full  of  water  that  the  master  cried  out, 


42 


COREA. 


“ My  mates,  cut  down  the  mast  by  the 
board  immediately,  and  recommend  your- 
selves to  the  mercy  of  God ; for  if  one  or 
two  such  waves  return  we  are  all  lost,  and 
all  our  skill  and  labor  will  not  save  us.” 

This  was  our  condition  when  the  second 
glass  of  the  second  watch  being  just  running 
out,  he  that  looked  out  ahead  cried,  “ Land  ! 
land !”  adding,  we  were  not  above  a musket- 
shot  from  it,  the  darkness  of  the  night  and 
the  rain  having  obstructed  our  discovering 
it  sooner.  We  endeavored  to  anchor,  but  in 
vain,  because  we  found  no  bottom,  and  the 
roughness  of  the  sea  and  force  of  the  wind 
obstructed.  Thus,  the  anchors  having  no 
hold,  three  successive  waves  sprung  such  a 
leak  iu  the  vessel  that  those  who  were  in  the 
hold  were  drowned  before  they  could  get  out. 
Some  of  those  who  were  on  the  deck  leaped 
overboard,  and  the  rest  were  carried  away  by 
the  sea. 

Fifteen  of  us  got  ashore  in  the  same  place, 
for  the  most  part  naked  and  much  hurt,  and 
thought  none  had  escaped  but  ourselves ; but, 
climbing  the  rocks,  we  heard  the  voices  of 
some  men  complaining,  yet  could  see  nothing 


HAMEL’S  SHIPWRECK  IK  COREA. 


43 


nor  help  anybody,  because  of  the  darkness 
of  the  night. 

On  the  16th  all  of  us  that  were  in  a con- 
dition to  walk  went  calling  and  seeking 
about  the  strand  to  see  if  we  could  find  any 
more  that  had  got  to  laud.  Some  were  found 
scattered  about,  so  that  we  made  up  thirty- 
six,  most  of  us  dangerously  hurt.  Then, 
searching  the  wreck,  we  discovered  a man 
betwixt  two  planks,  which  had  so  pressed 
his  body  that  he  lived  but  three  hours.  It 
is  needless  to  relate  how  sensibly  we  were 
touched  at  the  loss  of  our  ship,  and  to  see 
that  of  sixty-four  men  only  thirty-six  were 
left  in  a quarter  of  an  hour.  However,  we 
went  along  the  shore  to  pay  the  last  duties  to 
those  bodies  the  sea  had  cast  up.  We  found 
none  but  our  captain,  Egbert z of  Amster- 
dam, stretched  out  on  the  sand  ten  or  twelve 
fathoms  from  the  water,  with  his  arm  under 
his  head ; whom  we  buried. 

Having  scarce  taken  any  sustenance  for 
two  or  three  days  past,  because  there  had 
been  no  possibility  of  dressing  anything,  we 
searched  along  the  sands  to  see  whether  the 
sea  had  not  cast  any  of  our  provisions  ashore, 


44 


COREA. 


but  could  get  only  one  sack  of  meal,  a cask 
with  some  salt  meat,  a little  bacon,  and,  what 
was  best  for  the  wounded  men,  a hogshead 
of  claret.  Our  greatest  trouble  was  to  con- 
trive how  to  make  a fire,  for,  having  neither 
seen  nor  heard  any  living  creature,  we  con- 
cluded we  were  on  a desert  island.  Toward 
evening  the  wind  and  rain  somewhat  abating, 
we  gathered  enough  of  the  wreck  to  contrive 
some  shelter  for  us,  making  use  to  that  pur- 
pose of  the  remainder  of  our  sails. 


Page  45. 


Corean  Magistrate  and  Servant, 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  KIND  COREAN  GOVERNOR. 

N the  17th,  as  we  were  lamenting  our  cte 


plorable  condition,  sometimes  complain- 
ing that  we  saw  nobody,  and  sometimes  flat- 
tering ourselves  with  the  hopes  of  being  near 
Japan,  where  we  might  meet  somebody  that 
might  put  us  in  the  way  to  get  to  the  Dutch 
factory,  our  ship  being  in  no  condition  to  be 
refitted,  we  spied  a man  about  a cannon-shot 
from  us.  We  called  and  made  signs  to  him, 
but  as  soon  as  ever  he  saw  us  he  fled.  Soon 
after  noon  we  spied  three  more,  one  of  them 
with  a musket  and  his  companions  with 
bows  and  arrows.  Being  come  within  gun- 
shot  of  us,  they  halted,  and,  perceiving  that 
we  made  toward  them,  ran  away,  though  we 
endeavored  by  signs  to  show  them  we  desired 
nothing  but  fire  of  them. 

At  last  one  of  us  resolved  to  attack  them ; 
but  they  delivered  up  their  arms  without 


45 


46 


COREA. 


making  any  opposition,  wherewith  we  lighted 
the  fire  we  wanted.  These  men  were  clad 
after  the  Chinese  fashion,  excepting  only 
their  hats,  which  were  made  of  horse-hair, 
and  we  were  much  afraid  lest  they  should  be 
wild  Chinese  or  pirates.  Toward  evening 
there  came  an  hundred  armed  men  clad  like 
the  others,  who,  after  counting  us,  kept  us 
enclosed  all  the  night. 

On  the  18th  we  spent  all  the  morning  in 
enlarging  our  tent ; and  about  noon  there 
came  down  about  two  thousand  men,  horse 
and  foot,  who  drew  up  in  order  of  battle 
before  our  hut.  Our  secretary,  the  chief 
pilot  and  his  mate,  with  a boy,  went  out  to 
meet  them.  When  they  came  before  the 
commander  he  ordered  a great  iron  chain  to 
be  put  about  the  neck  of  each  of  them,  with 
a little  bell,  such  as  the  bell-wether  wears  in 
Holland.  In  that  condition  they  forced  them 
to  fall  down  and  prostrate  themselves  before 
that  commander,  all  his  men  at  tine  same 
time  raising  such  a shout  that  we  who  were 
in  the  hut  cried  out,  “We  are  lost,  and  must 
prepare  to  be  used  after  the  same  manner 
which  was  immediately  put  in  execution. 


THE  KIND  CORE  AN  GOVERNOR. 


47 


When  we  had  lain  some  time  flat  on  our  faces 
they  made  signs  to  us  to  kneel.  Being  in 
this  posture,  they  put  some  questions  to  us, 
which  we  did  not  understand,  and  we  on  our 
side  did  all  we  could  to  let  them  know  that 
we  intended  to  have  gone  to  Nangasakay 1 in 
Japan.  They  were  as  far  from  understand- 
ing us  as  if  they  had  never  known  Japan, 
for  they  call  that  country  Jeenare  or  Jirpon. 

The  commander,  perceiving  he  could  make 
nothing  of  all  we  said,  caused  a cup  of  arac2 
to  be  filled  to  every  one  of  us,  and  sent  us 
back  to  our  tent.  They  that  conducted  us, 

1 Nagasaki  (Long  Promontory),  a city  in  the  province  of 
Hizen  on  the  island  of  Kiushiu  in  Southern  Japan,  was  the 
loophole  through  which  Japan  looked  out  upon  the  world 
during  the  period  of  her  hermit-like  seclusion.  In  front  of  the 
city,  on  De'-shima  (Fore  Island)  the  Dutch  had  a factory  and 
trading-station,  and  a limited  number  of  Chinese  were  permit- 
ted to  live  in  the  city,  like  the  Dutch,  under  severe  restrictions. 
Nagasaki  is  now  the  terminus  of  the  electric  cables  to  China 
and  Siberia,  and  since  1859  has  been  an  open  port  for  foreign 
commerce  and  residence.  The  usual  spelling  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  as  we  see  in  Gulliver’s  Travels,  was  as  in  the  text,  rep- 
resenting the  southern  local  pronunciation.  The  Tokio  pro- 
nunciation is  now  the  standard  of  the  empire  and  the  usage  of 
foreign  writers. 

2 Arrack,  the  strong  rice-heer  which  in  Chinese  is  called  sam- 
shv,  and  jn  Japanese  sake,  the  common  drink  in  Corea.  By 
distillation  it  can  be  made  as  strong  and  intoxicating  as  whisky. 


48 


COREA. 


to  see  what  provisions  we  had,  found  only  a 
little  bacon  and  salt  meat,  which  they  showed 
to  their  chief.  An  hour  after  they  brought 
us  rice  boiled  in  water,1  and,  believing  we 
were  almost  starved,  would  not  give  us  much, 
for  fear  it  should  hurt  us.  After  dinner  they 
came  with  ropes  in  their  hands,  which  very 
much  surprised  us,  imagining  they  intended 
to  strangle  us ; but  our  fear  vanished  when 
we  saw  them  run  all  together  to  the  wreck 
to  draw  ashore  what  might  be  of  use  to  them. 
At  night  they  gave  us  more  rice  to  eat ; and 
our  master,  having  made  an  observation, 
found  we  were  in  the  island  of  Quelpaert, 
which  is  thirty-three  degrees  thirty-two 
minutes  of  latitude. 

These  people  were  employed  all  the  19th 
in  getting  ashore  the  sad  remains  of  our 
wreck,  drying  the  clothes  and  burning  the 
wood  to  get  the  iron,  being  very  fond  of  that 
metal.  Beginning  now  to  grow  somewhat 
familiar,  we  went  up  to  the  commander  of 
the  forces  and  the  admiral  of  the  island,  who 
was  also  come  down,  and  presented  each  of 

1 For  economy’s  sake,  the  Coreans  usually  save  the  water  in 
which  the  rice  has  been  boiled,  and  drink  it. 


THE  KIXD  COREA  X GOYERXOE. 


49 


them  with  a perspective-glass  and  a pot  of 
red  wine,  with  our  captain’s  silver  cup,  which 
we  found  among  the  rocks.  They  liked  the 
liquor  so  well  that  they  drank  till  they  were 
very  merry.1  They  returned  us  the  silver 
cup  with  many  tokens  of  friendship,  and  we 
retired  to  our  tent. 

On  the  20th  they  made  an  end  of  burning 
all  the  wood  of  the  ship  and  saving  the  iron  ; 
during  which  time  a pleasant  accident  hap- 
pened. The  fire  they  made  coming  to  two 
pieces  of  cannon  which  were  loaded  with 
ball,  they  gave  so  great  a report  that  they 
all  fled,  and  durst  not  return  a long  while 
or  go  near  the  vessel  till  we  had  assured  them 
by  signs  they  need  not  to  fear  the  like  would 
happen  any  more.  This  day  they  brought 
us  twice  to  eat.2 * 4 

1 The  unanimous  report  of  visitors  and  travelers  is  that  the 
Coreans  are  strongly  addicted  to  drink,  and  intemperance  is  a 
national  vice. 

2 The  Coreans  were  not  unfamiliar  with  the  use  of  gunpow- 
der, as  an  incident  farther  on  will  show.  ^Neither  were  they 
ignorant  of  brass  cannon,  which  the  Japanese  had  used  in  their 
invasion  in  1592-97.  Iron  ordnance  was,  however,  then  a 
tarity.  Furthermore,  the  reason  why  they  lighted  fires  without 
a suspicion  of  danger  under  gun-carriages  mounted  with  cannon 

was  that  the  Dutch  artillery  was  muzzle-loading,  while  theirs, 

4 


50 


COREA. 


On  the  21st,  in  the  morning,  the  com- 
mander gave  us  to  understand  by  signs  that 
we  must  bring  before  him  all  we  had  saved 
in  our  tent,  that  it  be  sealed ; which  was  done 
in  our  presence.  Whilst  this  was  doing 
some  persons  were  brought  before  him  who 
had  converted  to  their  own  use  some  iron, 
hides  and  other  things  saved  out  of  our 
wreck,  which  they  had  still  in  their  posses- 
sion. They  were  immediately  punished  be- 
fore our  faces,  to  show  us  their  design  was 
not  to  wrong  us  of  any  of  our  goods.  Each 
of  those  thieves  had  thirty  or  forty  strokes 
given  him  on  the  soles  of  his  feet  with  a 
cudgel  as  thick  as  a man’s  arm  and  as  tall  as 
a man.  This  punishment  is  so  severe  that 
some  of  their  toes  dropped  off. 

About  noon  they  made  signs  to  give  us  to 


copied  from  the  Japanese,  was  breech-loading.  The  Portuguese 
and  Spaniards,  coming  to  Japan  as  early  as  1539,  very  probably 
used  breech-loading  guns.  At  the  Annapolis  Naval  Academy 
may  be  seen,  side  by  side,  a Spanish  cannon  cast  in  1490  and 
used  by  Cortez  in  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  and  a Corean  piece 
of  the  same  size  captured  in  one  of  the  forts  in  the  Han  River 
by  the  American  naval  battalion  in  1871.  Both  have  metal 
cartridge-holders  (cast,  and  not  reamed  or  drilled),  which  are 
dropped  in  the  breech  and  held  in  by  a plug — true  breech- 
loaders. 


THE  KIND  CORE  AN  GOVERNOR. 


51 


understand  we  must  depart.  Those  that 
were  well  had  horses  provided  for  them, 
and  the  sick  were  carried  in  hammocks. 
Thus  we  set  forward,  attended  by  a numerous 
guard  of  horse  and  foot ; and,  traveling  four 
leagues,  came  at  night,  to  a little  town  called 
Tadiane,1  where,  after  a slender  repast,  they 
carried  us  into  a warehouse  much  like  a 
stable. 

The  22d,  in  the  morning,  at  break  of  day, 
we  set  out  in  the  same  order,  and  traveled 
to  a little  fort,  near  which  there  were  two 
galliots.  Here  we  halted  to  dine,  and  at 
night  came  to  the  town  of  Moggan,2  or 
Mocxo,  where  the  governor  of  the  island 
resides.  We  were  all  conducted  to  the  square 

1 Both  the  authenticity  and  genuineness  of  Hamel’s  narrative 
were  doubted  by  many  readers  of  the  seventeenth  century  in 
Holland,  France  and  England  ; but  a glance  at  a Corean  map 
shows  at  once  the  truth  and  accuracy  of  the  writer.  Making 
allowance  for  the  Dutchman’s  enunciation  of  Corean  names,  we 
easily  recognize  the  town  of  Ta-jon  or  Ta-djon  in  “Ta-diane,” 
which  lies  a few  miles  inland  from  the  southernmost  point  of 
Quelpaert  Island. 

2 Now  called  Nai-ju.  Hamel  gives  us  an  alternative  name, 
“Mocxo”  (or  Moo-shoo,  the  former  syllable  denoting  its  old 
feudal  privileges,  moo,  and  the  latter  the  modem  termination 
for  cities  of  its  grade,  shoo,  in  which  the  governor  of  the  dis- 
trict resides). 


52 


COREA. 


before  the  town-house,  where  about  three 
thousand  men  were  at  their  arms,  some  of 
whom,  coming  forward,  gave  us  water  to 
drink  in  dishes ; but  they  being  armed  after 
a dreadful  manner,1  we  thought  they  designed 
to  rid  themselves  of  us.  Their  very  habit 
increased  our  fear,  for  it  had  somewhat 
frightful,  which  is  not  seen  in  China  or 
Japan. 

Our  secretary,  attended  by  the  same  per- 
sons with  whom  he  appeared  the  first  time 
before  the  commander  of  the  troops,  was 
carried  to  the  governor.  When  they  had 
lain  a while  prostrate  on  the  ground  a sign 
was  made  to  us  to  do  the  same,  after  we  had 
been  brought  near  a sort  of  balcony  which 
was  before  the  house,  where  he  sat  like  a 
king.  The  first  thing  he  caused  to  be  asked 


1 These  braves  were  very  probably  the  flail-men  so  graphic- 
ally described  by  the  British  captain  Edward  Belcher  ( Voyage 
of  the  Samarang,  vol.  i.  p.  341) : “The  handle  of  this  dangerous 
weapon  [the  war-flail]  was  about  three  feet  in  length,  with  an 
arm  of  eighteen  inches,  jointed  in  iron  and  studded  three  inches 
from  the  extremity  by  nine  studs  or  nails,  similar  to  those  used 
in  portcullis-gates.  A single  blow  from  this  weapon  would 
probably  indent  a musket  and  render  it  useless.”  It  was  this 
same  city  that  Captain  Belcher  in  1845  visited  with  his  marines 
to  demand  the  right  of  surveying  the  coast. 


THE  KIND  CO  RE  AN  GOVERNOR. 


53 


of  us  by  signs  was,  whence  we  came  and 
whither  we  were  bound.  We  answered,  as 
before,  that  we  were  Hollanders,  and  were 
bound  for  Nagasaki  in  Japan;  whereupon  he 
gave  us  to  understand  by  bowing  his  head  a 
little  that  he  understood  something  of  what 
we  said.  Then  he  ordered  us  to  pass  before 
him  four  and  four  at  a time ; and  having  put 
the  same  question  to  us  all,  and  received  the 
same  answer,  he  ordered  us  to  be  carried  to 
the  same  house  where  the  king’s  uncle,  who 
had  attempted  to  usurp  the  throne,  had  been 
confined  and  died.1 

As  soon  as  we  were  in,  the  house  was  beset 
with  armed  men,  and  we  had  a daily  allow- 
ance of  twelve  ounces  of  rice  a man  and  the 
same  quantity  of  wheaten  meal,  but  very 
little  besides,  and  so  ill  dressed  that  we  could 
not  eat  it.  Thus  our  common  meals  were 
for  the  most  part  rice,  meal  and  salt,  and  we 
had  nothing  to  drink  but  water. 

The  governor  seemed  to  us  to  be  a very 
understanding  man,  and  we  often  found  af- 

1 Quelpaert  Island  has  been  for  centuries  used  as  a place  of 
banishment  for  nobles  and  high  officers,  and  for  the  common 
people  is  the  Botany  Bay  of  the  kingdom.  Many  Christians 
have  been  exiled  there  during  the  present  century. 


54 


COREA. 


terward  that  we  had  not  been  deceived  in 
our  opinion.  He  was  then  threescore-and- 
ten  years  old,  had  been  born  in  the  capital 
city  of  the  kingdom,  and  was  in  good  esteem 
at  the  court.  When  lie  dismissed  us  he  made 
signs  that  he  would  write  to  the  king  to 
know  what  he  was  to  do  with  us.  It  would 
be  a considerable  time  before  his  answer 
could  come,  because  the  distance  was  four- 
score leagues,  whereof  all  but  ten  leagues  by 
land,  and  therefore  we  begged  of  him  to 
order  we  should  have  flesh  sometimes  and 
something  else  to  eat.  We  also  obtained 
leave  of  him  for  six  of  us  to  go  abroad  every 
day,  by  turns,  to  take  the  air  and  wash  our 
linen  ; which  was  granted,  to  our  great  satis- 
faction, for  it  was  very  heavy  to  be  shut  up 
and  live  on  bread  and  water. 

He  also  did  us  the  honor  to  send  for  us 
often  and  to  make  us  write  something  before 
him,  both  in  his  tongue  and  in  our  own. 
There  we  first  began  to  understand  some 
words  of  that  language ; and  he  discoursing 
with  us  sometimes,  and  being  pleased  to  di- 
vert us  with  some  little  amusements,  we  began 
to  conceive  some  hopes  of  some  day  getting 


THE  KIND  CORE  AN  GOVERNOR. 


55 


over  to  Japan.  He  also  took  such  care  of 
our  sick  that  we  may  affirm  we  were  better 
treated  by  that  idolater  than  we  should  have 
been  among  Christians. 

On  the  29th  of  October  our  secretary,  the 
master  and  surgeon’s  mate  were  carried 
before  the  governor,  where  they  found  a man 
sitting  who  had  a great  red  beard.  The  gov- 
ernor asked  us  whom  we  took  that  man  to 
be  ; and  having  told  him  we  supposed  him  to 
be  a Dutchman,  he  fell  a-laughing,  and  said 
we  were  mistaken,  for  he  was  a Coresian.1 
After  some  discourse  had  passed  between  us, 
that  man,  who  till  then  had  been  silent,  asked 
us  in  Dutch  who  we  were  and  of  what  coun- 
try ; to  which  we  answered  that  we  were 
Dutchmen  come  from  Amsterdam  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  [Dutch  East  India]  Company, 
and,  being  bound  by  their  command  to  Ja- 
pan, a storm  had  thrown  us  upon  that 
island — that  our  vessel  being  staved,  we 
begged  earnestly  of  God  that  we  might  be 
sent  on  our  way. 

1 This  is  Hamel’s  term  for  “ Corean,”  formed  after  the  anal- 
ogy of  Chinese,  Japanese.  We  shall  substitute  the  more  intelli- 
gible term  “ Corean.” 


56 


COREA. 


Then  we  took  the  boldness  to  ask  his  name 
and  what  countryman  he  was ; to  which  he 
replied  that  his  name  was  John  Wetterree, 
born  at  Riip1  in  Holland,  whence  he  came 
as  a volunteer  in  the  year  1G26  aboard  the 
ship  called  the  Hollandia;  and  that,  going 
to  Japan  in  the  year  1627  aboard  the  frigate 
called  the  Ouderkeres,  the  wind  drove  them 
on  the  coast  of  Corea ; that  wanting  water, 
and  being  one  of  those  that  were  commanded 
ashore  to  get  provisions,  he  and  two  more 
had  been  taken  by  the  inhabitants ; that  his 
companions  had  been  killed  seventeen  or 
eighteen  years  since  in  the  wars,  when  the 
Tartars  invaded  Corea;  that  one  of  them, 
born  in  the  same  town  with  him,  was  Tlieo- 
dorick  Gerards ; the  other,  John  Pieters  of 
Amsterdam. 

Asking  him  further  where  he  lived  then, 
and  what  accident  had  brought  him  into  that 
island,  he  told  us  that  his  abode  was  in  the 
capital  city  of  the  kingdom  of  Corea,  whence 
the  king  had  sent  him  to  know  what  we  were 
and  what  had  brought  us  into  his  dominions. 

1 Now  Kyp,  in  the  province  of  North  Holland,  thirteen  miles 
north  of  Amsterdam. 


THE  KIND  CORE  AN  GOVERNOR. 


57 


He  added  that  during-  his  long  residence  in 
Corea  he  had  often  asked  leave  of  the  king 
to  go  over  to  Japan,  without  ever  obtaining 
any  other  answer  than  that  he  must  never 
expect  it,  unless  he  had  wings  and  could  fly 
thither — that  the  custom  of  the  country  was 
to  detain  strangers  that  came  thither,  but  that 
they  wanted  for  nothing,  being  provided  with 
diet  and  clothes  as  long  as  they  lived.  Thus 
all  the  comfort  he  could  give  us  was  that  we 
should  be  treated  as  he  had  been  if  we  were 
carried  to  the  king. 

The  joy  of  finding  so  good  an  interpreter 
dispelled  our  melancholy  and  made  us  forget 
all  our  misfortunes.  It  was  very  surprising, 
and  even  wonderful,  that  a man  of  fifty- 
eight  years  of  age,  as  he  then  was,  should 
so  forget  his  mother-tongue  that  we  had 
much  to  do  at  first  to  understand  him ; but 
it  must  be  observed  that  he  recovered  it  again 
in  a month. 

The  governor,  having  caused  all  our  dep- 
ositions to  be  taken  in  form,  sent  them  to 
court,  and  bade  us  he  of  good  cheer,  for  we 
should  have  an  answer  in  a short  time.  In 
the  mean  time  he  daily  bestowed  new  favors 


58 


COREA. 


upon  us,  insomuch  that  he  gave  leave  to 
Wetterree  and  the  officers  that  came  with 
him  to  see  us  at  all  times,  and  acquaint  him 
with  our  wants. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


EXPERIENCES  IN  QUELPAERT  ISLAND. 
BOUT  the  beginning  of  December  a new 


governor  came,  our  benefactor’s  three 
years  having  expired.  We  were  much  con- 
cerned about  it,  not  doubting  but  that  change 
might  be  prejudicial  to  us.  It  would  be  a 
hard  task  to  express  how  much  kindness  and 
affection  he  showed  us  at  his  departure,  inso- 
much that,  seeing  11s  ill  provided  against 
winter,  he  caused  two  pair  of  shoes,  a coat 
well  lined  and  a pair  of  stockings  of  skins 
to  be  made  for  every  one  of  us.  Besides,  he 
treated  us  nobly,  and  assured  us  he  was  sorry 
it  had  not  been  in  his  power  to  send  us  over 
to  Japan  or  to  carry  us  over  with  him  to  the 
continent.  He  further  added  that  we  ought 
not  to  be  troubled  at  his  going  away,  because, 
being  at  court,  he  would  use  all  his  endeav- 
ors to  obtain  our  liberty  or  to  have  us  carried 
thither.  He  restored  us  the  books  we  had 


59 


60 


COREA. 


saved,  with  some  other  parcels  of  goods,  giv- 
ing us  at  the  same  time  a bottle  of  precious 
oil  which  might  be  of  use  to  us  for  the  time 
to  come. 

The  first  thing  the  new  governor  did  was 
to  reduce  our  allowance  to  rice,  salt  and 
water.  We  complained  to  the  old  governor, 
who  was  still  detained  in  the  island  by  con- 
trary winds,  but  he  sent  us  this  answer : That 
his  time  being  expired,  it  was  not  lawful  for 
him  any  longer  to  hear  our  complaints,  but 
that  he  would  write  to  his  successor.  And 
as  long  as  he  was  in  the  island,  though  spar- 
ingly, we  were  allowed  as  much  as  might 
stop  our  complaints. 

After  that  good  lord’s  departure,  which 
was  in  the  beginning  of  January,  1G54,  we 
were  much  worse  used  than  we  had  been 
before,  for  they  gave  us  barley  instead  of 
rice,  and  barley-meal  instead  of  wheat.  Thus, 
if  we  had  a mind  to  eat  any  other  food,  we 
must  sell  our  barley  and  live  upon  the  twelve 
ounces  of  meal. 

This  hard  usage  forced  us  to  think  of  mak- 
ing better  use  of  our  liberty  of  going  abroad, 
by  six  and  six  at  a time,  than  we  had  done 


Two-masted  Corean  Vessel. 
(Prom  a photograph  taken  in  1871.) 


Page  61. 


EXPERIENCES  IN  QUELPAERT  ISLAND.  61 


before.  We  were  invited  by  the  approach- 
ing spring  to  make  our  escape,  and  the  more 
because  the  king’s  orders  did  not  come,  and 
we  were  in  danger  of  ending  our  days  in 
that  island  in  captivity  ; therefore,  after  long 
consulting  how  we  might  seize  upon  a boat 
in  a dark  night,  at  length  six  of  us  resolved 
to  execute  this  design  about  the  end  of  April ; 
but  one  of  the  gang  being  got  atop  of  the 
wall  to  discover  the  vessel  we  were  to  seize, 
he  was  unfortunately  discovered  by  some 
dogs,1  whose  importune  barking  made  the 
guards  more  watchful  and  us  lose  an  excel- 
lent opportunity  of  making  our  escape. 

About  the  beginning  of  May,  our  master 
going  abroad  with  five  others,  three  of  whom 
are  still  living,  as  he  was  walking  observed 
that  at  a little  hamlet  near  the  city  there  was 
a barque  well  appointed,  without  anybody  to 
guard  it.  He  presently  sent  one  of  his  com- 
pany to  get  a little  boat  and  some  short 

1 It  is  the  frequent  experience  of  European  travelers  in  Chi- 
nese Asia,  and  of  the  present  writer  when  in  Japan,  that  the 
Asiatic  dogs  are  able  to  distinguish  foreigners  in  disguise  and 
at  a considerable  distance  to  windward.  The  odor  of  the  Cau- 
casian body  seems  to  be  markedly  different  from  that  of  the 
Turanian. 


62 


COREA. 


planks.  Then,  making  every  one  of  his  men 
drink  a draught  of  water,  he  went  aboard 
without  taking  care  for  any  more.  Whilst 
they  were  laboring  to  draw  the  barque  over 
a little  shoal  that  was  by  it,  some  of  the  in- 
habitants discovered  their  design,  and  one 
of  them,  running  out  with  a musket,  went 
into  the  water  to  oblige  them  to  return  ; yet 
that  did  not  hinder  their  getting  out,  except 
one,  who,  not  being  able  to  get  up  to  the 
others,  was  forced  to  go  back  to  land.  The 
other  five  going  to  hoist  sail,  both  the  mast 
and  sail  fell  into  the  water.  They  soon  got 
them  up,  and  setting  everything  right  with 
much  labor,  as  they  endeavored  a second 
time  to  hoist  sail  the  end  of  the  mast  broke 
off  short  and  could  not  possibly  be  mended. 
All  these  delays  gave  the  natives  time  to  get 
into  another  barque  and  soon  overtake  them, 
our  men  having  nothing  to  help  them  away. 
As  soon  as  they  came  together,  our  men 
nimbly  boarded  them,  hoping  to  make  them- 
selves masters  of  the  vessel  notwithstanding 
their  enemies’  weapons ; but,  finding  this 
barque  was  full  of  water  and  unfit  for  ser- 
vice, they  all  submitted. 


EXPERIENCES  IN  QUELPAERT  ISLAND.  63 

Being  brought  ashore,  they  were  carried 
before  the  governor,  who  caused  their  hands 
to  be  made  fast  to  a great  log  with  a strong 
chain,  and  having  laid  them  flat  on  the 
ground  and  brought  us  all  before  them 
well  bound  and  manacled,  they  were  asked 
whether  they  had  done  that  action  without 
our  knowledge  or  whether  we  had  been  made 
privy  to  it ; -they  all  positively  asserting  we 
knew  nothing  of  it,  Wetterree,  before  men- 
tioned, was  set  to  examine  what  their  design 
was  ; and  they  answered  it  was  no  other  but 
to  go  to  Japan. 

“ How  durst  you,”  said  the  governor, 
“ attempt  that  passage  without  bread  and 
water  ?” 

They  answered  they  had  chosen  rather  to 
expose  themselves  once  for  all  to  the  danger 
of  death  than  to  die  every  moment. 

We  were  immediately  unbound,  but  the 
six  unfortunate  wretches  had  every  one 
twenty-five  strokes  on  the  bare  buttocks 
with  a cudgel  a fathom  long,  four  fingers 
broad  and  an  inch  thick,  being  flat  on  the 
side  that  strikes  and  round  on  the  other. 
These  strokes  were  so  unmercifully  laid 


64 


COREA. 


on  that  they  who  received  them  were 
forced  to  keep  their  beds  a month,  and  we 
were  all  of  us  deprived  of  our  liberty  and 
Strictly  guarded  day  and  night. 

About  the  latter  end  of  May  orders  came 
to  carry  us  to  court,  at  which  we  knew  not 
whether  we  ought  to  rejoice  or  be  troubled. 
Six  or  seven  days  after  they  put  us  into 
four  boats,  with  fetters  on  our  feet  and  one 
hand  made  fast  to  a block  to  prevent  our 
leaping  into  the  water,  which  otherwise  we 
might  easily  have  done,  all  the  soldiers  be- 
ing seasick.  After  two  days’  struggling  with 
contrary  winds  we  were  put  back  and  our 
irons  taken  off,  and  we  were  returned  to  our 
former  prison  at  Quelpaert. 

This  island,  which  the  natives  call  Sehe- 
sure,1  lies  twelve  or  thirteen  leagues  south 
of  the  coast  of  Corea  and  is  about  fourteen 
or  fifteen  leagues  in  compass.  On  the  north 
side  of  it  is  a bay  where  several  barques 
lie,  and  whence  they  sail  for  the  continent, 
which  is  of  very  dangerous  access  to  those 

1 This  term  Se'su-ra  seems  to  be  applied  to  any  large  island, 
as  that  one  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tumen  River,  which  divides 
Corea  from  Russia,  is  also  called  Se'su-ra. 


EXPERIENCES  IN  QUELPAERT  ISLAND.  65 

that  are  unacquainted  with  it,  because  of 
several  hidden  rocks,  and  that  there  is  but 
one  place  where  ships  can  anchor  and  ride 
under  shelter,  for  in  all  other  places  they 
are  often  driven  over  on  the  coast  of  Japan. 
The  island  is  all  encompassed  with  rocks, 
but  abounds  in  horses  and  cattle,  which 
pay  great  duties  to  the  king ; so  that,  not- 
withstanding their  breeds  of  horses  and 
herds  of  cattle,  the  islanders  are  very  poor, 
and  despised  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  con- 
tinent. In  this  island  there  is  a mountain 
of  a vast  height,1  all  covered  with  woods, 
and  several  small  hills,  which  are  naked 
and  enclose  many  vales  abounding  in  rice. 

Four  or  five  days  later  the  wind  came 
about,  and  we  were  shipped  betimes  in  the 
morning,  with  the  same  precaution  as  be- 
fore. Toward  night  we  drew  very  near  the 

1 This  mountain,  called  Han-ra  by  the  natives,  is  known  to 
foreigners  as  Mount  Auckland,  so  named  by  Captain  Belcher  in 
1845  in  honor  of  the  earl  of  Auckland,  high  admiral  of  Great 
Britain.  It  is  a three-cratered  extinct  volcano,  6544  feet  high, 
and  in  Corean  superstition  was  the  original  home  of  the  three 
first-created  men  of  the  world.  The  other  foreign  names  seen 
on  maps  of  Quelpaert,  such  its  “Bullock  Island,”  “Port  Ham- 
ilton,” “ Beaufort  Harbor,”  were  also  applied  by  the  British 
at  this  time. 


5 


66 


COREA. 


continent,  and,  having  lain  all  night  in  the 
roadstead,  landed  the  next  morning,  where 
our  chains  were  taken  off,  but  our  guards 
doubled. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


JOURNEY  TO  THE  CAPITAL. 

IN  the  morning  we  had  horses  brought 
to  carry  us  to  the  city  Hey-nam,1  and, 
having  been  separated  at  sea  and  landed  in 
several  places,  we  were  very  glad  to  meet 
all  together  again  at  that  town.  The  next 
morning,  having  taken  a very  slender  re- 
past, we  came  to  the  town  of  Je-ham,2  where 
Paul  John  Cools  of  Pierwerende,  our  gun- 
ner, died,  having  never  enjoyed  his  health 
since  our  shipwreck.  Next  day  the  governor 
of  the  town  caused  him  to  be  buried,  and 
we,  mounting  a-horseback,  came  at  night  to 
the  city  Na-dioo.3  The  day  following  we 

1  Hai-nam  (Sea-south)  is  a fortified  district  town  in  the  south- 
ernmost province  of  Chulla-do,  at  which  a magistrate  resides 
and  where  begins  the  road  to  the  capital. 

2  Now  Rion-am  (?),  the  “ county-town,”  having  jurisdiction 
over  nine  villages. 

3  Nai-chiu,  a fortified  city,  the  second  in  importance  in  the 
right  division  of  the  province,  and  the  seat  of  a vwk-sa , who 

67 


68 


COREA. 


lay  at  San-siang,1  thence  to  Tong-ap,  after 
crossing  a high  mountain,  on  the  top  where- 
of is  the  fort  Il-pam  San-siang,2  which  is 
very  spacious.  Thence  we  went  to  the  city 
Teyn,3  and  the  next  day  we  baited  at  the 
little  town  of  Kuni-ge,4  and  at  night  came 
to  the  great  town  of  Chin-tio,5  where  the 
king  formerly  kept  his  court,  and  where 
now  the  governor  of  Thilla-do 6 resides ; it 
is  a city  of  great  trade,  and  very  famous  in 

ranks  next  to  governor  or  intendant  of  circuit.  It  lias  juris- 
diction over  thirty-eight  villages. 

1 The  name  of  this  city  means  “ Long-enduring  Castle.”  It 
lies  at  the  base  of  two  ranges  of  mountains,  which  here  meet. 

2 The  term  “San-siang”  applies  to  a fortress  built  as  a ref- 
uge, not  only  for  a garrison,  but  for  the  people  of  the  surround- 
ing country  in  time  of  war. 

3 Ta-in.  Since  Hamel’s  day  the  main  road  has  perhaps 
shifted  to  the  westward,  and  Ta-in  is  on  a by-road.  It  has  juris- 
diction over  sixteen  villages. 

4 Kum-gu. 

5 Chon-jiu  is  the  capital  of  the  province  in  which  the  kam-sa, 
governor  or  intendant,  lives.  The  city  proper,  having  jurisdic- 
tion over  thirty-six  villages,  is  ruled  by  a pan-kan,  or  officer  of 
high  grade,  and  is  walled  and  garrisoned. 

6 Thilla-do.  Do  means  province  or  circuit.  Evidently  the 

pronunciation  of  the  name  of  this  province  is  not  easily  caught 
by  ° ” ear.  Tsien-la,  Tliilla,  Cliulla,  Julia,  Zenra, 

Zella,  are  some  of  the  spellings.  We  prefer  Cliulla.  The 
word  is  difficult  to  translate,  but  seems  to  mean  “Complete 
Network,”  or  a maze  of  mountains,  rivers  and  human  habita- 
tions. 


JOURNEY  TO  THE  CAPITAL. 


69 


that  country,  though  a day’s  journey  from 
the  sea. 

Going  thence,  we  lay  at  Jesan,  the  last 
town  of  the  province  of  Chulla-do ; then 
at  the  little  town  of  Guuun,  next  at  Jensan, 
and  lastly  at  Consio,1  the  residence  of  the 
governor  of  the  province  of  Tsiong-sian-do.2 
Next  day  we  crossed  a great  river,3  and  en- 
tered upon  the  province  of  Sen-ga-do,4  in 
which  Sior,5  the  capital  of  the  kingdom,  is 
seated.  After  lying  many  days  in  several 

1 Kong-jiu,  the  capital  of  the  province  since  the  Japanese 
invasion,  and  the  residence  of  the  kam-sa,  is  a fortified  city  with 
walls  and  garrison.  The  local  magistrate  has  jurisdiction  over 
twenty-six  villages. 

2 Tiong-sian-do  (Chung-chong-do)  means  the  “province  of 
Serene  Loyalty.” 

3 The  Keum  River,  which  empties  into  Basil’s  Bay. 

4 Sen-ga-do  is  the  same  as  “ King-ki-tao,”  which  on  unre- 
vised foreign  maps  does  duty  for  the  name  of  the  capital  of 
Corea.  “Sen”  is  the  same  word  as  in  Sa n-siang,  and  means 
“ the  royal  castle ga  is  the  representative  of  the  second  Chi- 
nese character,  which,  with  the  third,  signifies  “royal  capital” 
or  “city  of  the  regal  residence.”  Kiung-kei-to  Ls  the  Corean, 
King-ki-tao  the  Chinese,  pronunciation  of  the  three  characters 
forming  the  name  of  this  smallest  but  most  important  province. 

s S4-oul,  “ the  city,”  the  common  name  for  capital,  like  the 
Chinese  king  in  Peking,  Nanking,  etc.,  and  the  Japanese  kid 
in  Tokid,  Kioto,  etc.  The  official  and  proper  name  of  the 
Corean  capital  is  llan-yang  (“the  royal  castle  on  the  llan” 
[River]). 


70 


COREA. 


places,  we  crossed  a river1  as  wide  as  the 
the  Maese  is  at  Dordrecht,  a league  from 
which  is  the  city  of  Seoul,  where  the  king 
keeps  his  court.  We  reckoned  seventy-five 
leagues2  we  had  traveled  from  our  landing  to 
this  city,  all  the  way  northward,  only  a lit- 
tle inclining  to  the  west. 

Being  come  to  this  town,  they  put  us  all 
together  in  a house,  where  they  left  us  two 
or  three  days,  after  which  time  they  put 
us  into  little  huts,  three  and  three  or  four 
and  four,  with  Chinese  that  are  settled 
there ; then  they  carried  us  all  in  a body 
before  the  king,  who  examined  us  as  to  all 
points  by  the  help  of  Wetterree.  Having 
answered  him  the  best  we  could,  we  hum- 
bly beseeched  His  Majesty  that  since  we 
had  lost  our  ship  in  the  storm,  he  would 
be  pleased  to  send  us  over  to  Japan,  that, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  Dutch  there,  we 
might  one  day  return  to  our  country  to  en- 


1 The  Han  River. 

2 Tiie  Coreans  reckon  the  distance  from  Hai-nam,  the  port 
at  which  the  Dutchmen  landed,  at  891  ri  from  Stioul.  The  dis- 
tance in  a straight  line  is  about  one  hundred  and  seventy-six 
miles.  The  French  reckon  but  sixteen  minutes  difference  in 
longitude  east  in  favor  of  Seoul. 


JOURNEY  TO  THE  CAPITAL. 


71 


joy  the  company  of  our  wives,  children  and 
friends. 

The  king1  told  us  it  was  not  the  custom 
of  Corea  to  suffer  strangers  to  depart  the 
kingdom — that  we  must  resolve  to  end  our 
days  in  his  dominions,  and  he  would  pro- 
vide us  with  all  necessaries.  Then  he  or- 
dered us  to  do  such  things  before  him  as 
we  were  best  skilled  in,  as  singing,  dancing 
and  leaping  after  our  manner.  Next  he 
caused  us  to  have  meat  given  us,  which  was 
well  enough  after  their  manner,  and  gave 
each  of  us  two  pieces  of  cloth  to  clothe  us 
after  their  fashion. 

The  next  day  we  were  all  sent  before  the 
general  of  the  forces,  who  ordered  AVetter- 
ree  to  tell  us  that  the  king  had  put  us  into 
his  life-guards,  and  that  as  such  he  would 
allow  us  seventy  catties2  of  rice  a month. 
Every  one  of  us  had  a paper  given  him,  in 
which  were  set  down  his  name,  his  age,  his 
country,  what  profession  he  had  followed 

1 To-chong,  the  twentieth  king  of  the  line  founded  in  A.  D. 
1392,  who  reigned  from  1648  to  1658,  dying  at  the  age  of 
thirty-four. 

2 A catty  is  one  and  a third  pounds  avourdupois,  and  is  the 
standard  unit  of  weight  in  Chinese  Asia. 


72 


COREA. 


before  and  what  he  now  was, — all  in  their 
character,  sealed  with  the  king’s  great  seal 
and  the  general’s,  which  is  nothing  but  the 
print  of  a hot  iron.1  Together  with  this 
commission  they  delivered  to  each  a musket, 
powder  and  ball,  with  orders  to  give  a vol- 
ley before  the  general  every  first  and  fourth 
day  of  the  month,  to  be  always  ready  to 
march  into  the  field  with  him,  whither  the 
king  went,  or  upon  any  other  account.  In 
spring  and  autumn  that  general  reviews  his 
troops  three  times  a month,  and,  besides,  the 
soldiers  exercise  as  often  in  private.  A 
Chinese  and  Wetterree  were  appointed  to 
command  us,  the  former  as  sergeant,  and 
the  other  to  have  an  eye  over  us  and  to 
teach  us  the  customs  and  manners  of  beha- 
vior of  the  Coreans. 

Most  of  the  great  men,  being  fond  of 
novelty,  invited  us  to  dine  at  their  houses, 
to  see  us  exercise  after  our  manner  and  to 
make  us  shoot  and  dance.  But,  above  all, 

1 Every  person  in  Corea  lias  one  of  these  passports  or  marks 
of  identity,  and  must  carry  it  upon  his  person,  and  be  ready  at 
any  time  to  show  it  to  the  authorities.  In  this  wav  the  govern- 
ment keeps  a close  knowledge  of  the  personal  habits  and  where- 
abouts of  every  subject. 


JOURNEY  TO  THE  CAPITAL. 


73 


their  wives  and  children  were  eager  to  see 
us,  because  the  meaner  sort  of  the  island 
of  Quelpaert  had  spread  abroad  a report 
that  we  were  monstrous,  and  that  when  we 
drank  we  were  forced  for  to  tuck  up  our 
noses  behind  our  ears.  These  absurd  tales 
were  the  cause  that  the  better  sort  of  peo- 
ple at  Seoul  were  amazed  to  see  us  better 
shaped  than  the  people  of  their  own  coun- 
try. Above  all,  they  admired  the  fairness 
of  our  complexion,  and  did  so  throng  to  see 
us  that  at  first  we  had  much  ado  to  break 
through  the  crowd  in  the  streets,  and  we 
could  not  be  quiet  at  home,  their  curiosity 
was  so  great.  At  length  the  general  put  a 
stop  to  this,  forbidding  all  persons  whatso- 
ever to  come  near  us  without  his  leave ; 
and  the  more  because  the  very  slaves  of 
great  men  took  the  boldness  to  come  and 
fetch  us  out  of  our  chambers  to  make  a jest 
at  and  divert  themselves  with  us. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE  CAPTIVES  IN  SEO  UL. 

IN  August  the  Tartar1  came  to  demand  the 
usual  tribute,  whereupon  the  king  was 
forced  to  send  us  to  a great  fort  to  be  kept 
there  as  long  as  the  ambassador  was  in  the 
country.  This  fort  is  about  six  or  seven 
leagues  from  Seoul,  on  a mountain  they  call 
Numma  Sansiang.  It  is  three  hours’  work 
to  get  up  to  it,  and  is  so  strong  that  the  king 
retires  to  it  in  time  of  war,  and  most  of  the 

1 The  Manchiu  envoy  of  the  Manchiu  or  Tartar  emperor 
Shun-chi,  who  was  now  reigning  in  Peking.  The  tribute  fixed 
by  the  capitulation  of  1637  gives  some  idea  of  the  chief  products 
of  the  peninsula.  It  was  100  ounces  of  gold,  1000  ounces  of 
silver,  10,000  bags  of  rice,  2000  pieces  of  silk,  300  pieces  of 
linen,  10,000  pieces  of  cotton  cloth,  400  pieces  of  hemp  cloth, 
100  pieces  of  fine  hemp  cloth,  10,000  rolls,  of  fifty  sheets  each, 
of  large  paper,  2000  knives,  1000  ox-horns,  40  decorated  mats, 
200  pounds  of  dyewood,  10  boxes  of  pepper,  100  tiger-skins, 
100  deer-skins,  400  beaver-skins,  200  skins  of  blue  (musk?)  rats. 
About  one-half  the  quantity  of  this  tribute  had  been  remitted 
shortly  before  the  coming  of  the  Dutchmen  to  Seoul.  Later,  it 
seems  that  the  Coreans  commuted  in  ginseng-root  for  some  of 
the  articles  enumerated  above. 

74 


THE  CAPTIVES  IN  SEOUL.  75 

great  men  of  the  kingdom  live  there.  It  is 
always  provided  for  three  years  and  for  a 
great  number  of  people  ; there  we  continued 
till  the  beginning  of  September,  when  the 
Tartar  went  away. 

About  the  end  of  November  the  cold  was 
so  vehement  that  the  river  [Han],  which  is 
a league  from  the  capital  city,  as  was  said 
before,  was  frozen,  and  three  hundred  horses 
loaded  passed  over  it.  The  general,  taking 
compassion  to  see  the  cold  we  endured,  gave 
the  king  an  account  of  it,  who  ordered  some 
hides  we  had  saved  from  our  shipwreck  to  be 
distributed  among  us,  which  were  most  of 
them  rotten,  allowing  us  to  sell  them  and 
buy  something  to  clothe  us  warm.  Two  or 
three  resolved  with  the  money  they  got  by 
these  hides  to  purchase  to  themselves  a little 
hut,  choosing  rather  to  endure  cold  than  to 
be  eternally  tormented  by  their  landlords, 
who  were  continually  sending  us  to  the 
mountains  two  or  three  leagues  distant  to 
fetch  wood.  This  labor  was  intolerable,  both 
by  reason  of  the  cold  and  because  the  ways 
are  bad  and  uneasy.  The  little  hovel  they 
bought  cost  them  nine  or  ten  crowns ; and 


76 


COREA. 


the  rest,  having  clothed  themselves  as  best 
they  could,  were  forced  to  pass  the  remainder 
of  the  winter  as  they  had  done  before. 

The  Tartar  returning  in  March,  1655,  we 
were  forbid,  as  before,  under  severe  penalties, 
going  out  of  our  houses.  The  day  he  set 
forward  to  return  home  Henry  Jans  of  Am- 
sterdam, our  master,  and  Henry  John  Bos 
of  Haerlem,  a gunner,  resolved  to  go  meet 
this  ambassador  on  the  way,  upon  pretense 
of  going  for  wood.  When  they  saw  him 
appear  at  the  head  of  several  bodies  of  horse 
and  foot  that  attended  him,  they  laid  hold 
of  his  horse’s  reins  with  one  hand,  and  with 
the  other,  turning  aside  their  Corean  habit, 
showed  him  they  were  clad  after  the  Dutch 
manner  underneath.  This  at  first  caused  a 
great  commotion  among  the  multitude,  and 
the  Tartar  asked  them  earnestly  who  they 
were,  but  they  could  never  make  him  under- 
stand them ; however,  the  ambassador  ordered 
them  to  follow  and  be  where  he  was  to  be 
that  night.  Being  come  thither,  he  made 
much  inquiry  whether  there  was  anybody 
that  could  understand  what  was  said  to 
him;  and  having  been  told  of  Wetterree, 


THE  CAPTIVES  IN  SEOUL. 


77 


he  sent  for  him  to  come  to  him  with  all 
speed. 

That  interpreter  having  advised  the  king, 
a council  was  held,  where  it  was  resolved  to 
make  the  ambassador  a present,  to  the  end 
he  should  so  stifle  the  matter  that  it  might 
not  come  to  the  Cham’s1  ear.  Our  two  poor 
wretches  were  brought  back  to  Seoul  and 
put  into  a prison,  where  they  soon  after  died, 
but  we  could  never  know  whether  a violent 
or  a natural  death,  none  of  us  having  been 
ever  allowed  to  see  them.  As  soon  as  this 
business  was  noised  abroad  we  were  carried 
before  the  council  of  war,  where  it  was  asked 
whether  we  had  any  intimation  of  our  com- 
panions’ design ; and  though  we  could  truly 
assert  we  had  not,  yet  that  would  not  save 
us  from  being  adjudged  to  have  every  one 
fifty  strokes  with  the  club  for  not  having 
given  notice  of  our  companions  going  out. 
We  had  certainly  received  that  correction 
had  not  the  king  remitted  it,  saying  we  were 
poor  wretches  cast  into  his  country  by  storms, 
rather  than  any  design  of  plundering.  All 
the  penalty  he  laid  on  us  was  sending  us 

1 The  old  form  for  Khan,  or  Ko-khan,  the  emperor  of  China. 


78 


COREA. 


home  again,  with  an  injunction  not  to  stir 
abroad  without  his  orders. 

In  June,  when  it  was  thought  the  Tartar 
was  to  come,  the  general  sent  our  interpreter 
to  acquaint  us  that  a vessel  was  run  aground 
on  the  island  of  Quelpaert,  and  that,  Wet- 
terree  being  too  old  to  perform  that  journey, 
those  three  among  us  who  best  understood  the 
Corean  language  must  prepare  to  set  out.  In 
pursuance  of  this  order,  the  assistant,  the 
pilot’s  mate  and  a gunner  were  chosen,  who 
set  out  two  days  after  to  bring  an  account  of 
that  .shipwreck. 

The  Tartar  coming  in  August,  we  were 
commanded,  under  pain  of  severe  punish- 
ment, not  to  stir  out  of  our  quarters  until 
three  days  after  he  was  gone.  The  day 
before  he  came  we  received  letters  from  our 
companions,  by  an  express,  in  which  they 
gave  us  an  account  that  they  were  confined 
on  the  southernmost  borders  of  the  kingdom, 
where  they  were  strictly  guarded,  to  the  end 
that  if  the  Great  Khan  had  received  any 
intelligence  concerning  the  two  unhappy 
fellows  that  were  dead,  and  should  demand 
the  rest,  they  might  tell  him  they  were  all 


THE  CAPTIVES  IN  SEOUL.  79 

three  cast  away  going  to  the  island  of  Quel- 
paert.  The  Tartar  came  again  about  the 
latter  end  of  the  year,  and  we  were,  by  the 
king’s  orders,  strictly  confined  to  our  houses, 
as  we  were  before. 

Though  the  Tartar  had  sent  twice  into 
Corea  since  the  attempt  unfortunately  made 
by  our  two  companions,  without  making  any 
mention  of  it,  yet  most  of  the  great  men 
used  all  their  endeavors  with  the  kins:  to 
destroy  us.  The  council  sat  three  days  upon 
this  affair,  but  the  king,  his  brother,  the  gen- 
eral and  some  others  were  not  altogether  of 
that  opinion.  The  general  was  for  making 
each  of  us  fight  two  Coreans,  all  with  the 
same  weapons,  pretending  that  so  the  king 
would  be  rid  of  us,  and  none  would  have  it 
to  say  that  the  king  had  murdered  poor 
strangers.  Some  more  charitable  persons, 
who  knew  we  were  kept  shut  up  and  igno- 
rant of  what  wras  doing,  gave  us  this  intelli- 
gence privately;  hereupon  Wetterree  told  us 
that  if  we  lived  three  days  we  should  in  all 
likelihood  live  long  enough  after. 

Now  the  king’s  brother,  who  was  president 
of  the  council,  passing  by  our  quarters  as  he 


80 


COREA. 


was  going  to  it,  and  very  near  to  us,  we  had 
the  opportunity  to  cast  ourselves  at  his  feet 
and  implore  his  favor,  lying  with  our  faces 
prostrate  on  the  ground.  This  sight  moved 
so  much  compassion  in  him  that  for  the 
future  he  solicited  our  affair  so  earnestly  that 
we  owe  our  lives  only  to  the  king  and  him. 
This  giving  offence  to  many  persons  who 
might  attempt  other  methods  to  destroy  us, 
for  the  preventing  their  wicked  designs  and 
to  avoid  our  appearing  before  the  Tartars  it 
was  thought  fit  to  banish  us  into  the  province 
of  Chulla-dd,  where  we  were  to  be  allowed 
fifty  pounds  of  rice  a month,  at  the  king’s 
cost. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


LIFE  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES. 

{ CCORDIN GLY,  we  departed  from  Seoul 
in  March  [1657]  on  horses  provided  for 
us,  our  acquaintances  bearing  us  company  as 
far  as  the  river,  which  is  a league  from  the 
city.  There  we  took  our  last  leave  of  Wet- 
terree,  for  from  that  day  to  this  we  have 
never  seen  nor  heard  talk  of  him.  We 
passed  through  all  the  same  towns  we  had 
seen  on  our  way  to  the  court,  and,  coming  to 
lie  at  Jeam,  we  set  out  the  next  morning, 
and  about  noon  arrived  at  a great  town  called 
Diusiong,  or  Thilla-pening,1  commanded  by 
a large  citadel  opposite  to  it.  The  pening- 
se,  who  is  chief  in  the  absence  of  the  gov- 
ernor, resides  there,  and  has  the  title  of 
colonel  of  the  province.  To  him  the  ser- 
geant that  had  the  charge  of  us  delivered  us 

1 A large  fortress  in  the  south-eastern  corner  of  Chulla-do, 
near  the  coast,  facing  south-eastwardly  to  Japan. 

6 


81 


82 


COREA. 


with  the  king’s  letters.  He  was  immediately 
sent  away  to  go  fetch  our  three  companions 
that  had  been  sent  away  the  year  before,  who 
were  twelve  leagues  off,  where  the  vice-ad- 
miral commanded.  We  were  all  lodged  to- 
gether in  a public-house,  and  three  days 
after,  those  that  were  absent  being  brought 
to  us,  we  were  again  together,  thirty-three  of 
us,  the  miserable  remains  of  our  shipwreck. 

In  April  they  brought  us  some  hides  that 
had  been  left  behind  at  Quelpaert,  from 
which  place  we  were  but  eighteen  leagues, 
they  not  being  worth  sending  to  Seoul.  We 
fitted  ourselves  the  best  we  could,  and  laid 
up  some  small  provisions  in  our  new  habi- 
tation. The  only  business  we  were  charged 
with  was  to  pull  up  the  grass  that  grew  in 
the  square  before  the  castle  twice  a month, 
and  to  keep  it  clean. 

This  year,  1657,  our  governor,  being  ac- 
cused of  some  misdemeanors,  was  forced  to 
go  to  court  to  clear  himself,  where  it  is  re- 
ported he  was  in  danger  of  his  life.  But 
being  well  beloved  by  the  people  and  favor- 
ed by  the  great  ones  on  account  of  his  family, 
which  was  one  of  the  noblest  in  the  king- 


LIFE  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES.  83 

dom,  he  came  off  so  well  that  his  honors 
were  increased.  He  was  very  good  to  us,  as 
well  as  to  the  natives.  In  February  came  a 
governor  very  unlike  the  other ; for,  besides 
that  he  found  us  more  work,  he  would  oblige 
us  to  20  three  leagues  off  to  the  mountain  to 
fetch  wood,  which  his  predecessor  had  caused 
to  be  brought  home  to  us  gratis.  But,  God 
be  praised,  an  apoplexy  delivered  us  from 
him  in  September  following ; which  nobody 
was  sorry  for,  so  little  was  he  liked. 

In  November  came  a new  governor,  who 
took  so  little  care  of  us  that  when  we  asked 
him  for  clothes  or  anything  else,  he  an- 
swered the  king  had  given  him  no  orders  as 
to  that  point — that  he  was  only  obliged  to 
furnish  our  allowance  of  rice,  and  for  other 
wants  it  was  our  business  to  provide  as  we 
thought  fit.  Our  clothes  being  now  worn 
out  with  carrying  of  wood,  and  the  cold  be- 
ginning to  pinch  us,  we  resolved  to  cast  off 
shame  among  those  people,  and  to  beg,  mak- 
ing our  advantage  of  their  curiosity,  which 
led  them  to  ask  us  a thousand  questions. 
Accordingly,  that  we  might  get  something 
to  clothe  us,  and  not  be  forced  to  run  half  a 


84 


COREA. 


league  for  a handful  of  salt,  we  presented  a 
petition  to  the  governor  for  his  leave  to  beg, 
representing  that  we  could  not  possibly  get 
our  living  any  longer  by  carrying  wood,  be- 
cause we  were  naked  and  our  labor  would 
yield  us  nothing  but  a little  salt  and  rice; 
therefore  we  humbly  prayed  he  would  per- 
mit us  to  go  abroad  in  our  turns.  He  granted 
it ; and  we  made  such  good  use  of  this  favor 
that  in  a short  time  we  were  provided  against 
the  cold. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1G58  the 
governor  was  called  away,  and  his  successor 
afflicted  us  with  new  crosses.  He  forbade  us 
going  abroad,  and  told  us  that  if  we  would 
work  for  him  he  would  give  each  of  us  three 
pieces  of  cotton  cloth.  After  having  long  con- 
sidered upon  his  offers,  which  would  not  set  us 
above  other  wants,  especially  in  a scarce  year 
as  that  was,  and  knowing  we  should  wear  out 
more  clothes  in  his  service  than  he  would  give 
us,  we  with  all  imaginable  respect  represented 
to  him  that  he  ought  not  to  require  that  of 
us ; after  which  an  accident  happened  which 
obliged  him  to  consent  to  our  demands. 
Those  people  are  so  much  afraid  of  a fever 


LIFE  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES.  85 

that  only  the  thought  of  it  terrifies  them, 
and  some  of  us  being  then  under  that  disease, 
he  consented  that  we  should  bea;  in  com- 
panies,  provided  we  were  not  absent  above  a 
fortnight  or  three  weeks,  and  that  we  neither 
went  toward  the  court  nor  Japan.  The  other 
half  of  us  that  remained  at  home  he  ordered 
should  look  to  the  sick  and  take  care  to  pull 
up  the  grass  in  the  square. 

In  April  this  year  the  king  died,  and  his 
son1  succeeded  him  with  the  consent  of  the 
Great  Khan.  However,  we  went  on  in  our 
trade,  and  particularly  among  their  religious 
men,  who  were  very  charitable  and  grateful 
for  the  pleasure  we  did  them  in  giving  an 
account  of  our  adventures  and  showing  them 
the  customs  of  other  countries.  They  were 
so  much  pleased  to  hear  us  that  they  could 
have  spent  days  and  nights  in  our  company. 

The  next  governor  that  came  in  the  year 
1660  was  so  kind  to  us  that  he  often  declared 
if  it  were  in  his  power  he  would  send  us 
back  into  our  country,  or  at  least  to  some 
place  where  there  were  countrymen  of  ours. 
He  grauted  us  a confirmation  of  the  liberty 

1 Yen-chong,  who  reigned  eighteen  years  (1658-76). 


86 


COREA. 


of  going  abroad  without  any  restraint.  This 
year  happened  such  a drought  that  all  sorts 
of  provisions  were  very  scarce.  The  follow- 
ing year,  1(561,  was  yet  more  miserable; 
abundance  of  people  were  famished  to  death 
and  the  roads  were  full  of  robbers.  The 
king  vigorously  pursued  them,  and  by  that 
means  prevented  many  robberies  and  mur- 
ders. He  also  ordered  the  dead  bodies  found 
in  the  fields1  to  be  buried.  Acorns,  pine- 
apples and  other  wild  fruit  were  all  the  sup- 
port of  the  people,  and  the  famine  was  so 
great  that  villages  were  plundered  and  some 
of  the  king’s  stores  broken  open,  and  none 
punished  for  it,  because  those  disorders  were 
committed  by  the  slaves  of  great  men;  and 
this  calamity  lasted  all  the  year  1662.  The 

1 This  picture  could  have  been  often  matched  in  old  Japan, 
and  in  Corea  is  not  yet  an  anachronism.  A visitor  in  S6oul  in 
1884  thus  writes  ( North  ('hina  Daily  News,  Feb.  12,  1884) : “Just 
after  passing  through  the  city-gates  the  other  day,  and  while 
riding  along  one  of  the  main  streets  of  the  suburbs,  I was  hor- 
rified to  come  upon  fourteen  headless  bodies  lying  in  the  middle 
of  the  road.  Each  body,  the  arms  of  which  were  tightly  bound 
with  cords,  had  a head  lying  alongside — in  some  instances  face 
upward,  in  others  the  reverse.  . . . The  bodies  were  those  of 
burglars  who  had  been  executed  the  previous  morning.  Some 
were  mere  lads.”  The  conclusion  was  suggested  that  “ the  sight 
was  too  common  to  attract  attention.” 


LIFE  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES.  87 


next  year,  1663,  felt  some  share  of  it ; for 
either  the  poor  had  not  sowed  or  else  they 
had  no  crop  ; however,  that  was  remedied  by 
the  plentiful  harvest  in  other  places  that  were 
watered  by  rivers  or  lay  near  bogs;  otherwise 
the  country  had  been  utterly  destroyed.  The 
place  where  we  were  being  no  longer  able  to 
furnish  us,  the  governor  wrote  about  it  to  the 
intendant  of  the  province,  who  answered  that 
the  king  having  appointed  our  subsistence 
to  be  furnished  there,  he  could  not  remove 
us  to  another  place  without  an  order  from 
His  Majesty.  About  the  end  of  February 
the  governor,  pursuant  to  the  orders  he  had 
received  from  court,  dispersed  us  into  three 
towns : twelve  he  sent  to  Saysiano,  five  to 
Siunschien,  and  as  many  to  Namman,1  for 
we  were  but  twenty-two  at  this  time.  This 
parting  was  very  grievous  to  us,  it  being  a 
great  satisfaction  to  be  all  together  in  a place 
where  we  were  at  our  ease  and  had  good  pro- 
visions ; whereas  it  was  to  be  feared  they 
might  send  us  to  some  place  that  still  labored 

1 “ Namman  ” is  probably  the  fortified  city  of  Nam-on,  famous 
for  its  siege  by  the  Japanese  in  1597.  It  is  about  “sixteen 
leagues”  inland  from  the  coast.  The  other  towns  are  near  the 
sea,  the  first  named  at  the  head  of  a beautiful  bay. 


88 


COREA. 


under  the  hardships  of  famine.  This  our 
sorrow  was  turned  into  joy,  for  this  alteration 
was  the  occasion  of  our  getting  away,  as  will 
appear  in  the  sequel. 

About  the  beginning  of  March,  after  tak- 
ing leave  of  our  governor  and  returning  him 
abundance  of  thanks  for  his  favors,  we  set 
out  from  thence  afoot,  carrying  the  sick  and 
Avhat  baggage  we  had  on  the  horses  allowed 
us.  Those  that  were  going  to  Saysiano  and 
to  Siunschien  went  the  same  road  with  us, 
and  we  lay  all  in  the  same  town  the  first  and 
second  night.  The  third  day  we  came  to 
Siunschien,  where  we  left  five  of  our  com- 
panions. The  next  night  we  lay  in  a coun- 
try-house, and,  setting  out  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, came  about  nine  to  Saysiano,  where  those 
that  conducted  us  delivered  us  to  the  gov- 
ernor or  admiral  of  the  province  of  Chulla- 
do,  who  resides  there.  He  presently  ordered 
us  lodging  and  such  furniture  as  was  neces- 
sary, and  the  same  allowance  we  had  enjoyed 
till  then.  This  seemed  to  us  to  be  a very 
good  worthy  lord. 

Two  days  after  our  coming  he  went  away 
to  court,  and  three  days  after  his  departure 


LIFE  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES.  89 


came  another  to  succeed  him,  who  proved 
our  scourge ; for  he  would  not  suffer  us  to  be 
far  from  him,  and  left  us  exposed  to  all  hard- 
ships of  the  summer  and  winter.  The 
greatest  favor  he  granted  us  was  leave  to  go 
cut  wood  fit  to  make  arrows  for  his  men, 
whose  only  employment  is  continually  shoot- 
ing with  the  bow,  the  great  men  striving 
who  shall  keep  the  ablest  archers.  He  put 
many  more  hardships  upon  us,  but  God  gave 
us  our  revenge.  Winter  drawing  on,  and 
the  town  we  were  in  not  having  furnished  us 
with  necessaries  against  the  cold,  we  repre- 
sented to  the  governor  in  what  a good  con- 
dition our  companions  were  in  the  other 
towns,  and  humbly  prayed  he  would  vouch- 
safe to  permit  us  to  go  seek  out  for  something 
to  defend  us  against  the  cold.  He  gave  us 
leave  to  be  absent  three  days,  upon  condition 
that  one-half  of  us  should  remain  with  him, 
whilst  the  other  half  was  abroad.  This  lib- 
erty was  very  beneficial  to  us,  because  the 
great  men,  who  had  compassion  on  us,  fa- 
vored our  sallies,  and  we  wTere  sometimes 
allowed  to  be  a month  abroad.  Whatsoever 
we  got  was  brought  and  put  in  common  with 


90 


COREA. 


those  that  remained  in  the  city.  This  con- 
tinued till  the  governor’s  departure,  who  was 
sent  for  by  the  king  to  come  to  court.  At 
his  arrival  there  he  declared  him  general  of 
his  army,  an  employment  always  possessed 
by  the  second  man  in  the  kingdom.  His 
successor  eased  us  of  all  our  burdens  that 
had  been  imposed  on  us,  and. ordered  that  we 
should  be  as  well  treated  as  our  companions 
were  in  the  other  towns.  Thus  we  were  only 
obliged  to  pass  muster  twice  a month,  to  keep 
our  house  in  our  turns,  and  to  ask  when  we 
would  go  abroad,  or  at  least  to  give  the  sec- 
retary notice,  that,  if  occasion  were,  they 
might  know  where  to  find  us. 

We  gave  God  thanks  for  having  delivered 
us  from  such  a wicked  man  and  sending  such 
a good  one.  This  man,  besides  the  favors 
already  mentioned,  often  treated  us,  and, 
civilly  condoling  our  misfortune,  asked  why, 
being  so  near  the  sea  as  we  were,  we  did  not 
attempt  to  pass  over  that  small  sea  which 
parted  us  from  Japan.  We  answered  we 
durst  not  venture  upon  such  a thing  contrary 
to  the  king’s  will ; and,  besides,  we  knew  not 
the  way  and  had  no  vessel.  To  this  he  re- 


LIFE  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES.  91 

plied  there  were  barques  enough  along  the 
sea-coast.  We  rejoined,  they  did  not  belong 
to  us,  and  that  if  we  missed  our  aim  we 
should  be  punished  as  thieves  and  deserters. 
The  governor  laughed  at  our  scruple,  not 
imagining  we  talked  after  that  manner  only 
to  prevent  their  being  jealous  of  us,  and  that 
all  our  thoughts  day  and  night  were  em- 
ployed in  contriving  liow  to  seize  a barque, 
and  that  our  enemies  had  obstructed  our 
buying  one  till  that  time.  Now  we  received 
the  news  that  our  late  governor  had  not  en- 
joyed his  new  honor  above  six  months  before 
he  was  summoned  to  answer  before  the  king 
for  his  misdemeanors.  He  was  accused  of 
having  put  to  death  several  persons,  as  well 
nobles  as  commoners,  on  very  slight  occa- 
sions. He  was  condemned  to  receive  four- 
score and  ten  strokes  of  a cudgel  on  his 
shin-bones  and  to  be  banished  for  ever. 

About  the  latter  end  of  the  year  a blazing 
star  appeared,  and  after  that  two  at  once; 
the  first  was  seen  in  the  south-east  for  about 
two  months,  the  other  in  the  south-west,  but 
their  tails  were  opposite  against  one  another. 
The  court  was  so  much  alarmed  at  it  that 


92 


COREA. 


the  king  caused  all  the  guards  to  be  doubled 
in  all  his  ports  and  aboard  his  ships.  He 
also  caused  provisions  to  be  carried  into  his 
stronghold,  and  store  of  ammunition.  He 
made  all  his  forces,  both  horse  and  foot,  ex- 
ercise every  day,  and  expected  nothing  less 
than  an  invasion  from  some  of  his  neighbors, 
insomuch  that  he  forbade  making  any  fire  at 
night  in  those  houses  that  might  be  seen 
from  the  sea.  The  common  sort  spent  all 
they  had,  keeping  only  as  much  as  would 
serve  them  poorly  to  subsist  with  rice,  because 
they  had  seen  the  same  signs  in  the  heavens 
when  the  Tartars  came  to  overrun  their  coun- 
try. They  also  remembered  that  some  such 
thing  had  appeared  before  the  Japanese  de- 
clared war  against  them.  Wherever  we  were, 
they  asked  us  what  we  judged  were  the  con- 
sequences of  comets  in  our  country.  We 
told  them  it  denoted  some  signal  judgment 
of  God  to  follow,  and  generally  the  plague, 
war  or  famine,  and  sometimes  all  three. 
Having  had  experience  of  it,  they  agreed 
with  our  opinion. 

We  lived  this  and  the  ensuing  year,  1665, 
enough  at  our  ease,  using  all  our  endeavors 


LIFE  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  PRO  VINCES.  93 

to  make  ourselves  masters  of  a barque,  but 
without  success.  Sometimes  we  rowed  in  a 
little  boat  which  served  us  to  get  our  living 
along  the  shore,  and  sometimes  to  round 
some  small  islands,  to  see  whether  nothing 
would  fall  out  to  our  purpose  and  which 
might  forward  our  escape.  Our  companions 
that  were  in  the  two  other  towns  came  every 
now  and  then  to  see  us,  and  we  repaid  their 
visits  often er  or  seldomer  according  as  it 
pleased  our  governors,  for  some  were  more 
favorable  than  others.  Yet  we  were  patient 
under  the  greatest  severities,  thinking  it  a 
great  mercy  that  God  granted  us  our  health 
and  a subsistence  during  that  long  captivity. 
The  following  year,  1666,  we  lost  our  pro- 
tector and  good  friend  ; for,  his  time  expiring, 
the  king  honored  him  with  a better  employ- 
ment. It  is  incredible  how  much  good  he 
did  to  all  sorts  of  people  indifferently  during 
his  two  years’  government ; and  accordingly 
he  was  entirely  beloved  both  in  the  city  and 
country,  and  the  king  and  nobility  had  a 
great  esteem  for  his  wisdom  and  good  be- 
havior. Whilst  he  was  in  his  post  he  re- 
paired public  structures,  cleared  the  coasts 


94 


COREA. 


and  maintained  and  increased  the  marine 
forces.  The  king  was  so  well  pleased  at 
these  actions  of  his  that  he  preferred  him  to 
the  prime  dignities  at  court. 

We  were  without  a governor  for  three  days 
after  his  departure,  for  it  is  enough  if  he  that 
quits  has  his  place  supplied  the  third  day  by 
his  successor,  these  three  days  being  allowed 
the  new  governor,  that  by  the  advice  of  some 
diviner  he  may  choose  a happy  minute  to 
enter  upon  his  government.  As  soon  as  in- 
stalled he  thought  it  not  enough  to  use  us 
with  all  the  severity  the  banished  governor 
had  done,  but  would  oblige  us  continually  to 
mould  clay,  which  we  refused  to  do,  alleging 
that  his  predecessor  had  not  imposed  any 
such  labor  upon  us ; that  our  allowance  being 
scarce  enough  to  keep  us  alive,  it  was  but 
reasonable  to  allow  us  what  time  we  had  to 
spare  from  our  own  affairs  to  get  something 
to  clothe  us  and  supply  our  other  wants ; that 
the  king  had  not  sent  us  to  work,  or  if  we 
must  be  so  used,  it  were  better  for  us  to  quit 
his  allowance,  and  desire  to  be  sent  to  Japan 
or  some  other  place  where  there  were  any  of 
our  nation.  All  the  answer  was,  ordering 


LIFE  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES.  95 

us  to  be  gone,  threatening  he  would  find  a 
way  to  make  us  comply.  But  he  was  luckily 
prevented  ; for  but  a few  days  after,  be  being 
in  a very  pretty  vessel,  some  fire  accidentally 
fell  into  the  powder  and  blew  up  the  prow, 
killing  five  men.  Here  it  must  be  observed 
that  those  people  keep  the  powder  in  a pow- 
der-room before  the  mast.  The  governor, 
believing  he  could  conceal  that  accident,  gave 
no  account  of  it  to  the  intendant  of  the 
province ; but  he  was  mistaken,  for  the  fire 
was  seen  by  one  of  the  spies  the  king  keeps 
on  the  coasts,  and  even  in  the  heart  of  the 
country,  to  be  informed  of  all  that  happens.1 
This  spy  having  acquainted  the  intendant 
with  it,  he  sent  an  account  of  it  up  to  court, 
whither  the  governor  was  immediately  sum- 
moned, and  by  sentence  of  the  judges  re- 
ceived fourscore-and-ten  strokes  on  his  shin- 
bones, and  was  banished  for  ever. 

Thus  in  July  we  had  another  governor, 
who,  behaving  himself  toward  us  in  all  re- 
spects as  the  last  had  done,  required  of  us 
every  day  an  hundred  fathom  of  mat.  We 


1 These  spies  are  called  “ messengers  on  the  dark  path.”  The 
same  system  of  official  espionage  formerly  prevailed  in  Japan. 


96 


COREA. 


gave  him  to  understand  that  was  impossible 
to  be  done,  and  made  the  same  remonstrances 
to  him  as  we  had  done  to  his  predecessors. 
This  moved  him  no  more  than  it  had  done 
them;  for  he  told  us  that  if  we  were  not  fit 
for  that  sort  of  work,  he  would  find  other 
employment  for  us,  which  he  had  done  but 
that  he  fell  sick.  His  rigidness  made  us 
conclude  that  our  misfortunes  were  beyond 
redress,  because  new  officers  rather  add  new 
burdens  than  take  off  those  that  are  already 
laid  on.  Thus,  besides  our  own  affairs,  we 
were  obliged  to  pull  up  the  grass  in  the 
square  of  the  peningse,  and  then  to  go  cut 
and  bring  home  wood  fit  for  arrows. 

These  considerations  made  us  resolve  to 
take  the  advantage  of  our  tyrant’s  indispo- 
sition, and  to  get  a barque  at  any  rate  what- 
soever, choosing  rather  to  hazard  all  than  to 
groan  any  longer  in  captivity  among  idola- 
ters and  bear  with  all  sorts  of  wrongs  they 
would  offer  us.  For  the  compassing  of  our 
design  we  decreed  to  make  use  of  a Corean, 
our  neighbor,  who  was  very  familiar  with  us 
and  whom  we  had  often  relieved  in  his  dis- 
tress. We  proposed  to  him  to  buy  or  cause 


LIFE  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES.  97 


a barque  to  be  bought  for  us,  pretending  we 
wanted  it  to  go  beg  cotton  in  the  neighbor- 
ing islands,  promising  him  a good  share 
when  we  came  again.  He  performed  what 
he  was  instructed  with,  bargaining  very 
boldly  for  a fisherman’s  barque,  and  we 
presently  gave  him  the  money  to  pay  for  it. 
The  seller,  perceiving  it  was  for  us,  would 
have  gone  from  his  bargain  at  the  instigation 
of  some  that  told  him  it  was  to  make  our 
escape,  and  if  we  did  so  he  would  be  put  to 
death. 

This  was  really  true ; but  we  offering  to 
pay  double  the  value,  he  consented,  making 
more  account  of  the  present  profit  than  of 
the  mischief  that  might  ensue.  As  soon  as 
the  two  Coreans  were  gone  we  immediately 
furnished  the  barque  with  sails,  an  anchor, 
rigging,  oars  and  all  things  we  thought  neces- 
sary, in  order  to  set  out  at  the  first  quarter 
of  the  moon,  that  being  the  fittest  season. 
We  kept  two  of  our  companions,  whom  their 
good  fortune  had  brought  to  visit  us,  and  who 
wanted  not  much  courting;  and  understand- 
ing that  John  Piters  of  Vries,  an  able  sailor, 
was  at  Siunschien,  we  sent  to  desire  him  to 


98 


COREA. 


come  to  us,  telling  him  all  things  were  in 
readiness.  The  messenger,  missing  him  at 
Siunschien,  went  to  look  for  him  at  Nam- 
man,  which  is  sixteen  leagues  farther,  and 
brought  him  away,  having  traveled  above 
fifty  long  leagues  in  four  days. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  ESCAPE  TO  JAPAN. 

I^HE  day  and  hour  being  appointed  to 
depart — which  was  the  4th  of  September 
as  the  moon  was  setting — though  our  neigh- 
bors had  conceived  some  jealousy,  yet  we  for- 
bore not  at  night,  after  eating  a bit  of  what 
we  had,  to  creep  along  under  the  city-walls 
to  carry  the  rest  of  our  provisions,  being  rice, 
pots  of  water  and  a frying-pan.  The  moon 
being  down,  nobody  saw  us.  The  first  thing 
we  did,  we  went  over  into  a little  island, 
which  was  within  cannon-shot,  where  we 
filled  a cask  we  found  in  the  barque  with 
fresh  water.  Thence,  without  making  any 
noise,  we  made  our  way  before  the  vessels 
belonging  to  the  city  and  just  opposite  to  the 
king’s  frigates,  making  out  as  far  as  we  could 
into  the  channel.  The  calm  which  had  con- 
tinued till  then  ceasing,  there  started  up  a 

99 


100 


COREA. 


fair  gale,  which  invited  us  to  hoist  sail,  as  we 
did,  heartily  calling  upon  God  to  assist  us 
and  resigning  ourselves  up  to  him. 

On  the  5th  of  September,  in  the  morning, 
when  we  were  almost  out  of  the  channel  of 
the  island,  a fisherman  hailed  us,  but  we 
would  not  answer,  fearing  it  might  be  some 
advanced  guard  to  the  men-of-war  that  lie 
thereabouts.  At  sunrising  the  wind  fell, 
which  obliged  us  to  lower  our  sails  and  row 
to  get  farther  off  and  prevent  being  discov- 
ered. About  noon  the  weather  began  to 
freshen,  and  at  night  we  spread  our  sail,  di- 
recting our  course  by  guess  south-east.  The 
wind  growing  fresh  at  night,  we  cleared  the 
point  of  Corea,  and  were  no  longer  appre- 
hensive of  being  pursued ; and  the  wind 
holding  all  night,  we  made  much  way. 

The  sixth  day,  in  the  morning,  we  found 
ourselves  very  near  the  first  of  the  islands 
of  Japan ; and  the  same  gale  still  favoring 
us,  we  came,  without  knowing  it,  before  the 
island  of  Firando,1  where  we  durst  not  put 

1 It  was  on  Hirado  Island  that  the  Dutch  had  their  trading- 
station  before  being  ordered  to  Nagasaki.  A lighthouse  now 
guards  the  coast  of  this  island,  famous  not  only  for  its  former 
Dutch  and  English  trade  (see  Cock’s  Diary,  London,  1 883),  but 


THE  ESCAPE  TO  JAPAN.  101 

in,  because  none  of  us  had  ever  been  at 
Japan  and  we  were  unacquainted  with  the 
road.  Besides,  the  Coreans  had  often  told 
us  there  were  no  isles  to  coast  along  in  the 
way  to  Nagasaki.  We  therefore  passed  on 
to  come  up  with  an  island  that  lay  farther 
olf,  which  appeared  to  us  very  small  and 
near  to  us,  and  accordingly  we  left  it  astern 
that  night. 

The  seventh  day  we  held  on  our  course 
with  a cold  wind  and  uncertain  weather, 
running  along  abundance  of  islands,  which 
seemed  to  us  to  be  numberless ; and  being 
possessed  [with  the  idea  that]  there  were  no 
islands  to  be  left  behind,  we  endeavored  to 
get  above  them.  At  night  we  thought  to 
have  touched  at  a small  island,  and  would 
have  ridden  it  out  at  anchor  there,  but  the 
sky  seemed  to  look  stormy  ; but  we  perceived 
such  abundance  of  fires  all  about  that  we  re- 
solved to  continue  under  sail,  going  before 
the  wind,  which  was  very  cold. 

The  8th,  in  the  morning,  we  found  our- 
selves in  the  same  place  whence  we  set  for- 


as  the  ddpot  to  which  Taiko  deported  the  Romish  priests  out  of 
Japan. 


102 


COREA. 


wa  d at  night,  which  we  attributed  to  the 
force  of  some  current.1  Hereupon  we  re- 
solved to  stand  out  to  sea,  but  we  had  scarce 
sailed  two  leagues  before  there  started  up  a 
contrary  wind,  and  blew  so  hard  that  it 
forced  us  in  all  haste  to  seek  the  shelter  of 
the  land  ; and  the  weather  still  growing  more 
boisterous  every  moment,  after  crossing  a bay 
we  came  to  an  anchor  about  noon,  without 
knowing  what  country  we  were  in. 

Whilst  we  were  dressing  some  small  matter 
to  eat,  the  natives  passed  backward  and  for- 
ward close  by  us,  without  saying  anything  or 
making  any  stay.  About  evening,  the  wind 
being  somewhat  fallen,  we  saw  a barque  with 
six  men  in  it,  who  had  each  of  them  two 
knives  at  his  girdle.2  They  rowed  close  by 


1 This  is  the  “ Tsushima  branch  ” or  western  arm  of  the  Kuro 
Sliiwo  (Black  Current),  the  great  Gulf  Stream  of  the  Pacific. 
The  mainstream,  beginning  below  Formosa  and  running  past 
Japan,  sweeps  across  the  ocean  to  Alaska  and  California,  and 
then  bends  westwardly  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  It  is  by  this 
current  that  so  many  Japanese  castaways  have  been  drifted  to 
American  shores.  This  Tsushima  branch  flows  up  the  Sea  of 
Japan  and  rejoins  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  through  the  straits 
of  Tsugaru  and  of  La  Perouse. 

2 These  were  evidently  samurai,  “two  sworded  men,”  belong- 
ing to  the  military-literary  class. 


THE  ESCAPE  TO  JAPAN. 


103 


us,  and  landed  a man  opposite  to  the  place 
where  we  were.  This  made  us  weigh  and 
set  sail  as  fast  as  we  could,  making  use  of  our 
oars  at  the  same  time,  to  get  out  of  the  bay 
as  soon  as  possible  and  gain  the  open  sea. 
But  that  barque  prevented  us,  for,  setting  out 
in  pursuit  of  ours,  it  soon  overtook  us.  True 
it  is,  if  we  would  have  made  use  of  our  long 
bamboos  we  could  easily  have  prevented 
their  coming  aboard  us ; but,  seeing  several 
other  barques  set  out  from  the  shore  full  of 
men,  who  by  the  description  we  had  heard 
of  them  must  be  Japanese,  Ave  troubled  our- 
selves no  further.  They  hailing  us,  and 
asking  us  by  signs  whither  we  would  go,  we 
let  fly  the  colors  with  the  arms  of  Orange 
which  we  had  provided  for  that  purpose, 
crying,  “ Holland,  Nagasaki.”  Hereupon 
they  made  signs  to  us  to  strike  our  sail  and 
go  ashore,  which  we  presently  did.  They 
carried  one  of  our  men  into  their  barque, 
and  placed  the  rest  in  order  before  one  of 
their  pagods.1 

Being  come  to  an  anchor,  and  having 
placed  barques  about  ours  to  guard  it,  they 

1 Buddhist  temples. 


104 


COREA. 


took  another  of  our  men  and  carried  him  to 
the  first  they  had  drawn  out,  asking  them 
several  questions,  but  neither  understood  the 
other.  Our  arrival  alarmed  all  the  coast, 
and  there  was  not  a man  to  be  seen  but  was 
armed  with  two  swords ; but  what  satisfied 
us  was,  that  they  endeavored  to  show  us 
Nagasaki,  and  seemed  to  tell  us  there  were 
some  of  our  nation  there.  At  night  a great 
barque  that  brought  the  third  man  in  dignity 
of  the  isle  of  Gotto1  came  aboard  us.  That 
gentleman,  perceiving  we  were  Hollanders, 
gave  us  to  understand  by  signs  that  we  had 
six  ships  at  Nagasaki,  where  he  hoped  to  be 
with  us  in  four  or  five  days  if  we  desired  it. 
He  signified  to  us  that  we  were  in  the  island 
of  Goto,  subject  to  the  emperor ; and  to  sat- 
isfy his  curiosity,  desiring  to  know  whence 
we  came,  we  had  a great  deal  of  trouble  to 
give  him  to  understand  that  we  came  from 
Corea,  and  that  it  was  thirteen  years  since  we 
had  been  shipwrecked  on  an  island  belonging 
to  that  kingdom  ; that  we  desired  nothing  so 
earnestly  at  present  as  to  get  to  Nagasaki,  to 
some  of  our  countrymen  ; and  that  to  gratify 

1 Go-to  means  “ Five  Islands.” 


Corean  Officer.  Page  104. 


TIIE  ESCAPE  TO  JAPAN.  105 

this  our  inclination  we  had  exposed  ourselves 
in  a poor  barque,  in  a sea  unknown  to  us, 
where  we  had  sailed  forty  leagues1  without  a 
compass  to  reach  Japan,  not  regarding  all 
the  Coreans  had  said  to  persuade  us  that  the 
Japanese  put  all  the  strangers  that  came  into 
their  country  to  cruel  deaths. 

We  continued  the  three  following  days 
well  guarded  in  the  same  place,  aboard  our 
barque,  whither  they  brought  us  water,  wood, 
flesh,  and  gave  us  a mat  to  cover  us  from  the 
rain,  which  fell  in  great  abundance  all  that 
time. 

On  the  12th  they  furnished  us  with  pro- 
visions to  go  to  Nagasaki,  and  that  same 
night  we  anchored  on  the  other  side  of  the 
island,  where  we  spent  the  night. 

On  the  13th  that  gentleman  we  mentioned 
before  weighed  anchor,  being  attended  by 
two  large  barques  and  two  little  ones;  he 
carried  some  letters  from  the  emperor  and 
some  goods.  Our  two  companions  were  in 
one  of  those  great  barques,  and  did  not  come 
to  us  again  till  we  were  at  Nagasaki.  About 


1 All  of  Hamel’s  statements  of  distances  are  rather  within  the 
mark  and  entirely  devoid  of  exaggeration. 


106 


COREA. 


evening  we  saw  the  bay  of  that  city,  and  at 
midnight  anchored  before  it,  where  we  found 
five  ships  of  ours.  Several  inhabitants  of 
Goto,  and  even  some  of  the  chief  men,  pre- 
sented gifts,  and  did  us  many  kindnesses, 
without  taking  anything  of  us. 

On  the  14th  we  were  all  carried  ashore, 
where  the  [Dutch  East  India]  Company’s 
interpreters  received  us.  When  they  had 
writ  down  all  the  answers  we  made  to  their 
several  questions,  they  carried  us  to  the  gov- 
ernor’s house,  and  about  noon  we  were 
brought  before  him.  When  we  had  satisfied 
his  curiosity,  he  much  commended  our  action 
in  overcoming  so  many  dangers  and  difficul- 
ties to  recover  our  liberty.  Then  he  ordered 
the  interpreters  to  conduct  us  to  our  com- 
mandant, Min  Heer  William  Yolguers,  who 
received  us  very  kindly.  Min  Heer  Nicho- 
las le  Roy,  his  deputy,  was  also  very  friendly, 
and  so  was  all  the  nation1  in  general.  When 

1 About  a dozen  Hollanders  usually  remained  permanently  at 
the  commercial  station  on  the  island  D&hima  in  front  of  the 
city  of  Nagasaki.  The  seven  ships’  crews  at  this  time  present 
in  the  harbor  made  up  a considerable  number  of  Hamel’s  coun- 
trymen. Sometimes,  Coreans,  driven  by  stress  of  weather,  lodged 
in  Nagasaki  in  a “Corean  House”  erected  by  the  government. 


THE  ESCAPE  TO  JAPAN. 


107 


we  went  thence  they  caused  us  to  be  habited 
after  our  own  fashion. 

On  the  1st  of  October,  Min  Heer  Volguers 
left  the  island,  and  on  the  23d  sailed  out  of 
the  bay  with  seven  ships.  The  governor  of 
Nagasaki,  who  would  have  kept  us  a year, 
caused  us  to  be  brought  before  him  on  the 
25th  of  the  month,  and  after  examining  us 
over  again  restored  us  to  the  Company’s 
director,  who  lodged  us  in  his  own  house, 
whence  we  sailed  some  days  after  for  Batavia, 
where  we  arrived  on  the  20th  of  November, 
and  at  our  landing  delivered  our  journal  to 
the  general,  who,  after  a very  favorable  re- 
ception, promised  to  put  us  aboard  the  ships 
that  were  to  sail  from  thence  on  the  28th  of 
December.  These  ships,  after  some  storms, 
arrived  at  Amsterdam  on  the  20th  of  July, 
1668,  where  we  returned  thanks  to  God  for 
having  delivered  us  from  a captivity  of  thir- 
teen years  and  twenty-eight  days,  beseeching 
him  to  have  mercy  on  our  poor  companions 
who  were  left  behind. 

Here  follow  the  names  of  those  that  re- 
turned home  and  of  those  that  were  left  in 
Corea : 


108 


COREA. 


The  Names  of  Those  that  Returned  from, 
Corea. 

Henry  Hamel 1 of  Gorcum,  secretary  to  the 
ship,  and  author  of  this  account ; 
Godfrey  Denis  of  Rotterdam  ; 

John  Piters  of  Vries  in  Friesland ; 

Gerard  Jans  of  Rotterdam  ; 

Matthew  Ybocken  of  Enchuysen  ; 

Cornelius  Theodorick  of  Amsterdam  ; 

Benet  Clerc  of  Rotterdam ; 

Denis  Godfrey  of  Rotterdam. 

1 What  further  do  we  know  of  Hamel?  In  the  rare  Dutch 
book,  Voyages  to  America,  by  David  Peterson  de  Vries,  trans- 
lated and  privately  printed  by  the  late  Hon.  Henry  C.  Murphy 
of  Brooklyn,  on  page  21,  the  name  of  Heyndrick  Hamel  is 
mentioned  as  one  of  the  patroonship  to  plant  a colony  in  New 
Netherlands  (New  York)  in  1630.  In  the  Minutes  of  Royal 
Archives  of  Hague,  also  “ Henrieh  Hamel’s”  name  is  mentioned 
as  that  of  a co-patroon  of  New  Netherlands  in  America.  The 
signature  of  “ Henrieh  Hamel  ” as  “ a patroon  of  New  Nether- 
lands,” under  date  of  June  16,  1634,  is  down  on  a claim  against 
the  directors  of  incorporation  of  the  [Dutch]  West  India  Com- 
pany. Of  the  nine  original  patroons,  Kilian  Van  Rensselaer 
seems  to  have  been  the  wealthiest.  He  established  the  colony 
of  Rensselaer wyck  (Albany)  while  Hamel,  instead  of  being  one 
of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  New  York  State,  entered  the  service 
of  the  East  India  Company,  and  landed  in  Corea.  Evidently, 
Hamel  was  also  acquainted  with  Vries,  the  Dutch  navigator 
who  gave  his  name  to  Vries  Island,  near  the  Bay  of  Yedo  in 
Japan,  and  with  Arendt  Van  Curler,  the  founder  of  Schenec- 
tady. 


THE  ESCAPE  TO  JAPAN. 


109 


The  Names  of  Those  that  Remained  in 
Corea. 

John  Lampe  of  Amsterdam,  assistant ; 
Henry  Cornelius  of  Vreelandt; 

John  Nicholas  of  Dort ; 

Jacob  Jans  of  Norway  ; 

Anthony  Ulders  of  Embden  ; 

Nicholas  Arents  of  Ost-Yoren  ; 

Alexander  Bosquet,  a Scotchman  ; 

John  of  Utrecht. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


NATURE  AND  PEOPLE  IN  THE  KINGDOM  OF 
COREA. 

THE  kingdom  known  to  us  by  the  name 
of  Corea,  and  by  the  natives  called  Tio- 
zen-couk1  and  sometimes  Caoli,2  reaches  from 
34  to  44  degrees  of  north  latitude,  being 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  in  length 
from  north  to  south  and  about  seventy-five 
in  breadth  from  east  to  west;3  therefore  the 

l, 2 Cho-sen  koku  (The  Land  of  Morning  Calm).  The  correct 
official  name  since  A.  d.  1392  is  Cho-sen  (or  Cho-zun),  but  the 
common  people  still  use  the  old  name,  Kaoli  (Japanese  Ko-rai). 
The  embassy  which  visited  the  United  States  in  1883  used  the 
term  Ta  Cho-sen  or  Ta  Cho-suu,  Great  Morning  Calm.  The 
prefix  Ta,  Tai,  like  the  French  Grand,  is  also  used  by  the  Chi- 
nese and  Japanese. 

3 The  43d  parallel  of  north  latitude  grazes  the  northern  fron- 
tier of  Corea.  The  length  of  the  peninsula  is  about  seven  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles,  and  it  probably  averages  one  hundred 
and  twenty  miles  in  breadth  ; it  lies  between  the  same  parallels 
as  Wilmington,  N.  C.,  and  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  in  the  United 
States.  The  area  is,  roughly  speaking,  about  ninety  thousand 
square  miles — somewhat  more  than  that  of  Minnesota. 

110 


NATURE  AND  PEOPLE. 


Ill 


Coreans  represent  it  in  the  shape  of  a long 
square,  like  a playing-card;1  nevertheless,  it 
has  several  points  of  land  which  run  far  out 
into  the  sea. 

It  is  divided  into  eight  provinces,  contain- 
ing three  hundred  and  sixty  cities  and  towns, 
without  reckoning  the  forts  and  castles, 
which  are  all  on  the  mountains. 

This  kingdom  is  very  dangerous  and  diffi- 
cult for  strangers,  who  are  unacquainted  with 
its  coasts,  to  land,  because  it  is  much  enclosed 
with  rocks  and  sands.  Toward  the  south- 
east it  is  very  near  Japan,  there  being  but 
twenty-five  or  twenty-six  leagues’  distance 
betwixt  the  town  of  Pousan2  in  Corea  and 
that  of  Osacco3  in  Japan.  Betwixt  them  is 
the  island  Suissima,  which  the  Coreans  call 

1 So  the  rude  Corean,  Chinese  and  old  European  maps  rep- 
resent it. 

2 Pu-san'  (in  Corean,  or  Fu-san'  in  Japanese)  is  the  port  at 
whicli  the  Japanese  have  had  a trading-station  from  before  the 
period  of  the  invasion  of  1592.  It  is  now  a treaty-port  open  to 
the  citizens  of  treaty  nations.  It  is  connected  with  Japan  by 
electric  cable,  and  has  a population  of  two  thousand  Japanese. 
It  is  about  fifteen  hours’  steamer-distance  from  Nagasaki. 

3 By  “ Osacco  ” Hamel  can  scarcely  refer  to  the  city  of  Ozaka, 
but  rather  to  that  of  Hakata  in  Ilizen,  at  which  place  the  Co- 
rean embassy  from  Stioul,  bearing  tribute  to  the  “Tycoon”  at 
Yedo,  was  accustomed  to  land  on  its  way  from  Fusan. 


J 12 


COREA. 


Taymutta;1  it  formerly  belonged  to  them, 
but  they  exchanged  it  for  that  of  Quelpaert 
in  a treaty  of  peace  concluded  with  the  Jap- 
anese. 

On  the  west  this  kingdom  is  divided  from 
China  by  the  bay  of  Nanking,2  but  is  joined 
to  it  on  the  north  by  a long  and  high  moun- 
tain, which  is  all  that  hinders  Corea’s  being 
an  island.3  On  the  north-east  it  is  bounded 
by  the  vast  ocean,  where  there  is  every  year 
a great  number  of  whales  taken,  some  of 
them  with  the  French  and  Dutch  harpoons,4 

1 Tsu-shima,  or  Twin  Islands,  called  by  the  Coreans  Tai- 
ma-to.  Tii  in  Corean  means  island.  Tsu-shima  has  an  area  of 
262 square  miles,  8800  inhabitants,  and  is  situated  midway  be- 
tween Iki  Island  and  Corea.  The  submarine  telegraph  to  Fusan 
passes  through  it.  For  centuries  it  was  held  in  fief  by  the  So 
family  of  Japanese  daimios. 

2 This  “Bay  of  Nanking”  is  the  Yellow  Sea.  Nan-king 
(Southern  Capital)  was  for  centuries  the  capital  of  China,  until 
Peking  (Northern  Capital)  was  chosen  to  be  the  imperial  resi- 
dence. A flourishing  commerce  once  existed  between  Nanking 
and  the  Corean  ports,  in  which  even  the  Arabs  took  part.  The 
Corean  term  for  many  things  of  Chinese  origin  is  “Nanking.” 

3 These  are  the  Ever-white  Mountains,  which  separate  Corea 
from  Russia  and  Manchuria,  marked  on  maps  Chan-yan  alyn, 
or  Chang-bai  shan. 

4 This  fact  was  one  of  the  many  arguments  formerly  used  to 
prove  the  existence  of  the  north-east  passage,  which  was  finally 
demonstrated  by  Nordenskjold  in  the  steamer  Vega.  He  made 
the  passage  from  Gothenburg,  Sweden,  through  Weigats  into 


NATURE  AND  PEOPLE. 


113 


those  people  using  to  follow  that  fishery. 
There  are  abundance  of  herrings  also  caught 
there  in  December,  January,  February  and 
March.  Those  taken  the  two  first  of  these 
months  are  as  large  as  ours  in  Holland,  hut 
what  they  catch  afterward  are  smaller,  and 
like  those  in  Holland  called  frying  herrings, 
which  are  eaten  in  March  and  April.  Hence 
we  infer  that  there  is  a passage  above  Corea, 
Japan  and  Tartary  which  answers  to  the 
Straits  of  Weigats;1  for  this  reason  we  often 
asked  of  the  Corean  seamen,  who  use  the 
north-east  sea,  what  lands  were  beyond  them, 
and  they  all  told  us  they  believed  there  was 
nothing  that  way  but  a boundless  ocean. 

Those  that  go  from  Corea  to  China  embark 
in  the  uttermost  part  of  the  bay  ; for  the 
way  by  land  is  too  troublesome,  by  reason  of 

the  Polar  Sea,  and  through  Behring  Straits  to  Yokohama,  and 
thence,  by  way  of  the  Suez  Canal,  to  Europe,  in  1878-79. 

1 Thus,  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  before  La  Perouse  dis- 
covered the  straits  which  bear  his  name,  and  long  before  Behr- 
ing demonstrated  the  existence  of  the  straits  connecting  the 
Arctic  with  the  Pacific  Ocean,  these  Dutch  captives  inferred 
such  a connection.  The  herring-fisheries  of  Corea  are  of  great 
importance,  especially  on  the  western  coast.  Thousands  of 
Chinese  fishermen  come  every  year  in  the  spring-time  to  fish, 
and  the  sight  reminds  one  of  that  on  the  Banks  of  Newfound- 
land. 


8 


114 


COREA. 


the  difficulty  there  is  in  passing  the  moun- 
tain, especially  in  winter,  because  of  the  ex- 
cessive cold  ; and  in  summer,  because  of  the 
many  wild  beasts.1  It  is  easy  to  pass  over 
on  the  north  side  in  winter,  the  bay  being 
generally  frozen  hard  enough  to  bear.  The 
cold  is  so  intense  in  Corea  that  in  the  year 
1G62,  we  being  in  the  monasteries  on  the 
mountains,  there  fell  such  a wonderful  quan- 
tity of  snow  that  they  made  ways  under  it 
to  go  from  house  to  house ; and  to  go  upon 
it  they  wear  small  boards  like  little  battle- 
dores under  their  feet;  which  hinders  their 
sinking,  and  yet  is  no  obstruction  to  going 
up  or  down.  This  we  forgot  to  insert  in  the 
journal. 

By  reason  of  this  excessive  cold  those  who 
live  on  the  northern  coast  feed  only  upon 
barley,  and  that  none  of  the  best,  for  no  rice 
or  cotton  can  grow  there ; those  that  are  well- 

1 The  annual  embassy  to  Peking  usually  took  this  northern 
overland  route,  difficult  as  it  was.  The  development  of  Man- 
churia and  the  increase  of  population  have  now  robbed  the 
journey  of  most  of  its  terrors.  Through  this  loophole — the 
town  of  Ai-chiu  on  the  Yalu  Kiver — the  French  missionaries, 
disguised  as  mourning  widowers,  succeeded  in  penetrating  the 
country. 


NATURE  AND  PEOPLE. 


115 


to-do  there  have  their  meal  brought  from 
the  south.  The  poorer  sort  there  have  no 
clothes  but  what  are  made  of  hemp  and 
pitiful  skins ; but  to  make  amends  the  root 
nisy1  grows  there,  which  they  give  to  the 
Tartar  for  their  tribute,  and  drive  a great 
trade  with  it  to  China  and  Japan.  The  rest 
of  the  country  is  fruitful,  and  produces  all 
things  necessary  to  support  life,  especially 
rice  and  other  sorts  of  grain.  They  have 
hemp,  cotton  and  silk-worms,  but  they  know 

1 “Nisv”  is  the  Corean  term  for  the  famous  ginseng-root,  to 
which  the  Chinese  ascribe  almost  miraculous  properties,  be- 
lieving it  to  be  a cure-all.  The  root  grows  best  in  Northern 
Corea  and  Manchuria.  To  the  Chinese  imagination  the  freshly- 
prepared  root  is  shaped  like  a man’s  body,  and  the  decoction 
made  from  portions  taken  from  the  head,  trunk  or  limbs  of  the 
tuber  is  most  efficacious  in  the  corresponding  part  of  the  human 
frame.  The  discovery  of  ginseng  by  the  Jesuit  Lafitan  in  Can- 
ada in  1720,  and  later  in  Massachusetts  by  the  Stockbridge 
Indians,  then  under  the  missionary  care  of  the  Kev.  Jonathan 
Edwards,  in  1750,  and  by  the  Oneidas  and  Senecas  under  Do- 
mine  Kirkland  ten  years  later,  led  to  an  increasing  commerce 
in  the  drug,  and  formed  the  first  staple  American  export  to 
Chinese  Asia.  In  the  treaty  between  Corea  and  the  United 
States  in  1882  the  export  of  red  ginseng  is  prohibited.  This 
root  has  heretofore  been  a means  of  great  wealth  to  the  Coreans, 
who  possess  the  art  of  manipulating  the  poorer  sorts  so  as  to 
make  them  pass  for  the  better  kinds.  The  drug  has  little  efleet 
on  European  as  compared  with  Asiatic  constitutions,  owing 
probably  to  the  great  difference  in  diet. 


116 


COREA. 


not  liow  to  work  the  silk.1  There  are  also 
silver,  lead,  tigers’  skins  and  the  nisy-root, 
not  to  speak  of  beasts  and  fowl  and  several 
other  things.  They  have  store  of  horses  and 
cows,  and  make  use  of  oxen  to  till  the  land, 
and  of  horses  to  travel  and  carry  goods  from 
place  to  place.  There  are  also  bears,  deer, 
wild-boars,  swine,  dogs,  cats  and  several 
other  creatures. 

We  never  saw  any  elephants  there,  but 
alligators  or  crocodiles  of  several  sizes,  which 
keep  in  the  rivers ; their  back  is  musket- 
proof,  but  the  skin  of  their  belly  is  very  soft. 
Some  of  them  are  eighteen  or  twenty  [Dutch] 
ells  long,  their  head  large,  the  snout  like  a 
hog,  the  mouth  and  throat  from  ear  to  ear, 
the  eye  sharp  but  very  small,  the  teeth  white 
and  strong,  placed  like  the  teeth  of  a comb. 
When  they  eat  they  only  move  the  upper 
jaw.  Their  backbone  has  sixty  joints,  on 
their  feet  are  long  claws  or  talons,  their  tail 
is  as  long  as  the  body  ; they  eat  either  fish 

1 Except  in  the  coarse  fabric.  Satins,  brocades  and  fine  tex- 
tiles come  from  China  or  Japan.  The  Corean  raw  silk  has  been 
recently  discovered  by  American  silk-workers  to  have  special 
merits  of  its  own,  and  is  in  demand  for  certain  lines  of  manu- 
facture. 


NATURE  AND  PEOPLE. 


-117 


or  flesh,  and  are  great  lovers  of  man’s  flesh. 
The  Coreans  often  told  us  that  three  children 
were  once  found  in  the  belly  of  one  of  these 
crocodiles.  Besides  these,  there  is  an  abun- 
dance of  serpents  and  venomous  creatures.1 
As  for  fowl,  they  have  swans,  geese,  ducks, 
herons,  storks,  eagles,  falcons,  kites,  pig- 
eons, woodcocks,  magpies,  daws,  larks,  lap- 
wings, pheasants,  hens,  and  plenty  of  them 
all,  as  well  as  other  sorts  not  known  in 
Europe. 

Corea  is  subject  to  a king  whose  power  is 
absolute  (though  he  pays  an  acknowledgment 
to  the  Tartar),  and  he  disposes  of  all  things 
as  he  pleases,  without  asking  anybody’s  ad- 
vice. There  are  no  lords  of  peculiar  places 
— that  is,  who  are  proprietors  of  towns,  is- 
lands or  villages — and  all  the  great  men’s 
revenues  arise  out  of  those  estates  they  hold 
during  pleasure,  and  from  the  great  number 
of  their  slaves,  for  we  have  known  those  that 
had  two  or  three  hundred  ; so  that  the  lands 

1 The  testimony  of  Hamel  concerning  these  huge  saurians  is 
confirmed  by  the  French  missionaries  and  by  the  language. 
Like  the  salamanders  of  Japan,  they  belong  to  a species  swiftly 
becoming  extinct,  and  are  now  probably  found  only  in  isolated 
lakes  or  swamps  in  portions  of  the  country  sparsely  inhabited. 


118- 


COREA. 


and  employments  the  king  bestows  on  any 
man  revert  to  him  after  his  death.1 

For  martial  affairs  the  king  keeps  abun- 
dance of  soldiers  in  his  capital  city,  who 
have  no  other  employment  than  to  keep 
guard  about  his  person  and  to  attend  him 
when  he  goes  abroad.  All  the  provinces  are 
obliged,  once  in  seven  years,  to  send  all  their 
freemen  to  keep  guard  about  the  king  for 
two  months;  so  that  during  that  year  the 
province  is  under  arms,  sending  all  the  men 
in  their  turns  to  court.  Each  province  has  its 
general,  who  has  four  or  five  colonels  under 
him,  and  each  of  these  as  many  captains  de- 
pending on  them,  and  each  of  these  is  gov- 
ernor of  some  town  or  stronghold  ; insomuch 
there  is  not  a village  but  where  at  least  a 
corporal  commands,  who  has  tithing-men,  or 

1 There  are  still  many  remains  of  feudalism  in  Corea,  though 
nominally  the  feudal  system  has  been  abolished.  Slavery  or 
serfdom,  the  inheritance  of  the  early  ages,  is  still  practically  in 
existence,  though  in  mild  form  and  without  a color-line. 
Hamel’s  meaning  seems  to  be  that  though  the  hereditary  no- 
blemen are  without  administrative  office  or  power,  yet  they  are 
socially  very  influential  with  their  wealth  and  large  clientage 
of  followers.  Only  the  officers  appointed  by  the  king  or  gov- 
ernment have  political  power,  and  titles  or  rewards  granted  for 
special  services  to  individuals  cease  at  their  death  and  revert  to 
the  king. 


NATURE  AND  PEOPLE. 


119 


officers  over  ten  men,  under  him.  These 
corporals  are  obliged  once  a year  to  deliver 
to  their  captains  a list  of  what  people  are 
under  their  jurisdiction,  and  by  this  means 
the  king  knows  how  many  men  he  may 
reckon  upon  when  he  has  need.1  Their  horse 
wear  cuirasses,  head-pieces,  and  swords,  as 
also  bowrs  and  arrows,  and  whips  like  ours, 
only  that  theirs  have  small  iron  points.  The 
foot,  as  well  as  they,  wear  a corselet,  a head- 
piece,2  a sword  and  musket  or  half-pike. 
The  officers  carry  nothing  but  bows  and  ar- 
rows. The  soldiers  are  obliged  to  provide 
fifty  charges  of  powder3  and  ball  at  their 
own  cost.  Every  town  in  its  turn  furnishes 
also  a number  of  religious  men,  drawn  out 
within  its  own  liberties,  to  guard  and  main- 
tain the  forts  and  castles  at  their  own  ex- 
pense, these  being  in  narrow  passes  or  on  the 
sides  of  mountains.  They  are  counted  the 
best  soldiers,  and  obey  officers  chosen  out  of 

1 The  total  military  force  of  the  nation  (on  paper)  is  1,221,871 
men. 

2 Made  of  cotton  wadding  to  nine  thicknesses,  and  able  to  re- 
sist a musket-  but  not  a rifle-ball. 

3 Corean  powder  is  notoriously  slow  in  burning,  and  great  ir- 
regularities occur  in  the  home-made  product. 


120 


COREA. 


their  own  corps,  who  observe  the  same  disci- 
pline as  the  others.1  Thus  the  king  knows 
to  a man  how  many  are  fit  to  serve  him ; 
those  that  are  sixty  years  of  age  are  dis- 
charged from  duty,  and  their  children  supply 
their  places. 

The  number  of  freemen  who  are  not  in 
the  king’s  service,  and  have  not  been,  to- 
gether with  the  slaves,  makes  about  half  the 
people  in  the  country.  The  children  of  a 
free  man  and  slave  woman,  and  also  those 
of  a slave  father  and  free  woman,  are  them- 
selves slaves;  and  those  whose  father  and 
mother  are  both  slaves  belong  to  the  moth- 
er’s master. 

Corea  being  almost  encompassed  on  all 
sides  by  the  sea,  every  town  is  to  maintain  a 
ship  ready  rigged  and  provided  with  all  nec- 
essaries. Their  ships  have  generally  two 
masts  and  thirty  or  thirty-two  oars,  to  each 
of  which  there  are  five  or  six  men,  so  that 
each  of  this  sort  of  galleys  carries  about 
three  hundred  men  for  rowing  and  fight. 

1 This  system  of  clerical  militia  as  garrisons  of  fortified  mon- 
asteries and  for  local  warfare  closely  resembles  that  formerly  in 
vogue  in  Japan. 


NATURE  AND  PEOPLE. 


121 


They  carry  some  small  pieces  of  cannon  and 
abundance  of  artificial  fireworks.  For  this 
reason  every  province  has  its  admiral,  who 
views  these  vessels  once  a year,  and  gives  an 
account  of  what  he  finds  to  the  high  admiral, 
who  sometimes  is  present  at  these  reviews. 
If  any  of  the  admirals,  or  the  officers  under 
them,  commits  a fault,  he  is  punished  with 
banishment  or  death,  as  in  the  year  1066  we 
saw  our  governor  punished,  who  had  the 
command  of  seventeen  vessels,  for  not  ac- 
quainting the  king  that  the  powder  had 
taken  fire  and  blown  up  five  men.1 

The  chief  officers  by  sea  and  land,  who 
make  up  the  king’s  council,  meet  every  day 
at  court,  and  serve  him  in  all  things  that 
occur,  without  having  power  to  oblige  him  to 
anything.  They  must  wait  till  their  advice 
is  asked  before  they  give  it  and  till  they  are 
appointed  to  manage  any  business  before 
they  must  meddle  with  it.  These  people 
have  the  first  places  about  the  king,  and  live 
and  die  in  those  employments,  or  till  four- 

1 This  high  state  of  naval  equipment  and  discipline  was  the 
result  of  the  revival  of  the  military  spirit  after  the  Japanese 
invasion. 


122 


COREA. 


score  years  of  age,  provided  they  commit  no 
crime  that  renders  them  unworthy  to  con- 
tinue. The  same  is  practiced  in  other  in- 
ferior employments  at  court,  which  no  man 
quits  unless  it  be  to  rise.1  The  governors  of 
places  and  subaltern  officers  are  removed 
every  three  years,  and  very  few  of  them 
serve  out  their  time,  because  they  are  for 
the  most  part  accused  of  some  misdemeanors 
during  their  administration.  The  king  keeps 
spies  in  all  places  to  inform  him  of  every 
man’s  behavior,  which  is  the  reason  why 
many  are  often  punished  with  death  or  per- 
petual banishment. 

The  king’s  revenue  for  maintenance  of  his 
house  and  forces  arises  out  of  the  duties  paid 
for  all  things  the  country  produces  or  that 
are  brought  by  sea ; to  this  purpose,  in  all 
towns  and  villages  there  are  storehouses  to 
,keep  the  tithe,  for  the  farmers,  who  are  gen- 


1 The  “reform  of  the  civil  service”  and  the  appointment  to 
office  on  the  basis  of  competitive  literary  examinations,  similar 
to  the  Chinese  system,  were  inaugurated  in  Corea  in  the  fifteenth 
century.  The  system  was  probably  in  a better  state  of  efficiency 
in  Hamel’s  time  than  at  present,  though  Corean  gentlemen  have 
assured  the  present  writer  that  the  three-year  rule,  or  “ rotation 
in  office,”  is  still  in  active  operation. 


NATURE  AND  PEOPLE. 


123 


erally  of  the  common  sort,  take  the  tithe  of 
all  things  upon  the  spot  in  harvest-time, 
before  anything  is  carried  away.  The  great 
men  live  upon  their  revenues,  as  has  been 
said  before,  and  those  that  have  employments 
live  upon  the  allowance  the  king  gives  them, 
to  be  received  out  of  the  revenues  of  the 
places  where  they  reside,  assigning  what  is 
raised  in  the  country  for  the  sea  and  land 
forces.  Besides  this  tithe,  those  men  who 
are  not  enlisted  are  to  work  three  days  in  a 
year  at  whatsoever  business  the  country  will 
put  them  upon.  Every  soldier  and  trooper 
has  every  year  three  pieces  of  cloth  given 
him  to  clothe  him,  which  in  all  are  worth  a 
pistole,1  which  is  part  of  the  pay  of  the 
troops  that  are  in  the  capital  of  the  kingdom. 
This  is  what  is  raised  from  the  people,  who 
know  no  other  duties  or  taxes.2 

1 About  four  dollars. 

2 Custom-houses  exist  on  the  Russian  and  Chinese  frontiers, 
and  merchants  in  the  embassy  to  Peking  were  obliged  to  pay 
roundly  for  license  to  trade. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


PUNISHMENTS,  MORALS,  FESTIVALS  AND  TEM- 
PLES. 

JUSTICE  is  severely  executed  among  the 
Coreans,  and  particularly  upon  criminals. 
He  that  rebels  against  the  king  is  destroyed, 
with  all  his  race ; his  houses  are  thrown 
down,  and  no  man  does  ever  rebuild  them, 
and  all  his  goods  forfeited,  and  sometimes 
given  to  some  private  person.  When  the 
king  has  once  made  a decree,  if  any  man  is 
so  presumptuous  as  to  make  any  objection  to 
it,  nothing  can  protect  him  from  severe  pun- 
ishment ; as  we  have  often  seen  it  executed. 

Among  other  particulars  I remember  that 
the  king  being  informed  that  his  brother’s 
wife  made  great  curiosities  at  needlework,  he 
desired  of  her  that  she  would  embroider  him 
a vest ; but  that  princess  bearing  him  a mor- 
tal hatred  in  her  heart,  she  stitched  in  be- 
twixt the  lining  and  the  outside  some  charms 

124 


PUNISHMENTS,  MORALS,  ETC.  T25 

and  characters  of  such  nature  that  the  king 
could  enjoy  no  pleasure  nor  take  any  rest 
whilst  he  had  that  garment  on.  Alter  he 
• had  long  studied  to  find  what  might  be  the 
cause  of  it,  at  last  he  guessed  at  it ; he  had 
the  vest  ripped,  and  found  out  the  cause  of 
his  trouble  and  uneasiness.  There  was  not 
much  time  spent  in  trying  that  wretched 
woman  : the  king  condemned  her  to  be  shut 
up  in  a room  the  door  whereof  was  of  brass, 
and  ordered  a great  fire  to  be  lighted  under 
it,  the  heat  whereof  tormented  her  till  she 
died.  The  news  of  this  sentence  being 
spread  abroad  through  all  the  provinces,  a 
near  kinsman  of  this  unhappy  woman,  who 
was  governor  of  a town  and  in  good  esteem 
at  court  for  his  birth  and  good  qualities,  ven- 
tured to  write  to  the  king,  representing  that 
a woman  who  had  been  so  highly  honored  as 
to  marry  His  Majesty’s  brother  ought  not  to 
die  so  cruel  a death,  and  that  more  favor 
should  be  shown  to  that  sex.  The  king,  in- 
censed at  this  courtier’s  boldness,  sent  for  him 
immediately,  and  after  causing  twenty  strokes 
to  be  given  him  on  his  shin-bones,  ordered 
his  head  to  be  cut  off. 


126 


COREA. 


This  crime,  and  those  I shall  speak  of 
next,  are  only  personal,  and  do  not  involve 
the  whole  family  in  the  punishment.  If  a 
woman  kills  her  husband,  she  is  buried  alive 
up  to  her  shoulders  in  a highway  that  is 
much  frequented,  and  by  her  is  laid  an  axe, 
with  which  all  that  pass  by,  and  are  not 
noble,  are  obliged  to  give  her  a stroke  on  the 
head  till  she  is  dead.  The  judges  of  the 
town  where  this  happens  are  suspended  for  a 
while ; the  governor  is  taken  away,  and  it  is 
made  subordinate  to  another  government,  or, 
at  best,  only  a private  gentleman  is  left  to 
command  in  it. 

The  same  penalty  is  inflicted  on  such 
towns  as  mutiny  against  their  governors  or 
send  false  complaints  against  them  to  court. 
The  man  that  kills  his  wife,  and  proves  he 
had  cause  so  to  do — as  for  adultery  or  any 
other  heinous  fault — is  in  no  danger  for  so 
doing ; if  the  woman  so  killed  was  a slave, 
the  penalty  is  to  pay  three  times  her  value 
to  the  owner.  Slaves  that  kill  their  masters 
are  cruelly  tormented  to  death  ; but  they 
look  upon  it  as  nothing  for  a master  to  kill 
his  slave,  though  it  be  upon  a slight  account. 


PUNISHMENTS,  MORALS,  ETC. 


127 


Thus  they  punish  murder : After  they 
have  long  trampled  upon  the  criminal,  they 
pour  vinegar  on  the  raw  body,  which  they 
then  pour  down  the  offender’s  throat  through 
a funnel,  and  when  he  is  full  they  beat  him 
on  the  bellv  with  cudgels  till  he  bursts.1 
Thieves  are  trampled  to  death ; and  though 
this  he  a dreadful  punishment,  yet  the  Co- 
reans  are  much  addicted  to  stealing. 

If  a single  man  is  guiltv  of  adulterv,  he 
is  stripped  naked  to  a little  pair  of  drawers ; 
then,  daubing  his  face  with  lime,  they  run 
an  arrow  through  each  ear,  and  fasten  a little 
drum  on  his  back,  which  they  beat  at  all  the 
cross-streets  to  expose  him  to  shame;2  this 
punishment  ends  in  forty  or  fifty  strokes  of 
a cudgel.  If  a married  man  be  convicted 
of  adultery,  he  is  to  suffer  death,  and  the 
criminal’s  father,  if  living,  or  else  his  nearest 

1 It  is  probable  that  this  revolting  punishment,  formerly  in 
vogue  in  Japan  also,  has  been  abolished  in  Corea,  as  it  was  long 
ago  in  the  neighbor  country. 

1 This  indignity — chalk  on  the  face  and  arrows,  feather  end 
upward,  in  the  ears— with  beating,  and  decapitation  after  brutal 
strokes  given  by  the  soldiers  mimicking  combat,  but  spending 
their  blows  on  the  victim,  was  suffered  by  three  French  mis- 
sionaries in  1839,  and  by  nine  in  1866,  besides  a Chinese  priest 
and  many  native  martyrs. 


128 


COREA. 


relation,  must  be  the  executioner.  The  of- 
fender is  to  choose  what  death  he  will  die ; 
but  generally  the  men  desire  to  be  run 
through  the  back,  and  the  women  to  have 
their  throats  cut.  Those  who  by  a time  ap- 
pointed do  not  pay  what  they  owe  to  the 
king  or  private  persons  are  beaten  twice  or 
thrice  a month  on  the  shin-bones,  which  is 
done  till  they  can  find  means  to  discharge 
the  debt ; if  they  die  before  they  have  satis- 
fied the  creditor,  their  nearest  relations  are 
bound  to  pay  for  them  or  suffer  the  same 
punishment;  so  that  neither  the  king  nor 
private  persons  ever  lose  what  is  due  to 
them. 

The  slightest  punishment  in  that  country 
is  to  be  bastinadoed  on  the  back  or  on  the 
calves  of  the  legs ; and  they  look  upon  it  as 
no  disgrace,  because  it  is  very  common,  and 
they  are  often  liable  to  it  for  only  speaking- 
one  word  amiss.  Inferior  governors  and 
subordinate  judges  may  not  condemn  any 
man  to  death  without  acquainting  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  province.  No  man  can  try 
prisoners  of  state  without  the  king  be  first 
informed.  As  concerning  their  punishments, 


PUNISHMENTS,  MORALS,  ETC.  129 

this  is  the  manner  in  which  they  bastinado 
on  the  shin-bones : They  tie  the  criminal’s 
feet  together  on  a little  bench  four  fingers 
broad,  and,  laying  such  another  under  his 
hams,  to  which  they  are  fast  bound,  they 
strike  betwixt  these  two  bindings  with  a 
stick  as  long  as  a man’s  arm,  somewhat 
round  on  the  one  side  and  flat  on  the  other, 
two  inches  broad  and  about  the  thickness 
of  a crown-piece.  This  sort  of  laths  is  gen- 
erally of  oak  or  alder,  wherewith  they  must 
not  give  above  thirty  strokes  at  one  time, 
and  then  two  or  three  hours  after  they  repeat 
them,  till  the  whole  number  be  given  accord- 
ing to  the  sentence.  When  the  offender  is 
to  be  beaten  on  the  soles  of  the  feet,  he  is 
made  to  sit  down  on  the  ground  ; then,  hav- 
ing bound  his  feet  together  by  the  great  toes, 
they  rest  them  on  a piece  of  wood  they  have 
betwixt  their  legs,  and  beat  them  with  a cud- 
gel as  thick  as  a man’s  arm  and  three  or 
four  feet  long,  giving  as  many  strokes  as  the 
judge  has  ordered.  In  bastinadoing  a hun- 
dred strokes  are  equivalent  to  death,  and 
many  die  of  them,  and  some  even  before 
they  have  received  fifty.  When  any  are  ad- 


130 


COREA. 


judged  to  be  beaten  on  the  calves  of  the  legs, 
it  is  done  with  rods  or  wands  as  thick  as  a 
man’s  thumb.  This  punishment  is  common 
to  women  and  young  apprentices.  Whilst 
all  these  sorts  of  punishments  are  inflicting 
the  criminals  cry  so  lamentably  that  the 
spectators  seem  to  suffer  no  less  than  the 
offenders. 

As  for  religion,  the  Coreans  have  scarce 
any.  The  common  sort  make  some  odd 
grimaces  before  the  idols,  but  pay  them  lit- 
tle respect ; and  the  great  ones  honor  them 
much  less,  because  they  think  themselves  to 
be  something  more  than  an  idol.  To  prove 
this,  when  one  of  their  kindred  or  friends 
dies  they  all  appear  to  honor  the  dead  man 
at  the  offering  the  priest  makes  before  his 
image,  and  frequently  traveling  thirty  or 
forty  leagues  to  be  present  at  this  ceremony, 
whether  to  express  their  gratitude  to  some 
great  man  or  to  show  the  esteem  they  have 
for  some  learned  religious  man,  and  that 
they  preserve  the  memory  of  him.  On  fes- 
tivals the  people  repair  to  the  temple,  and 
every  one  lights  a bit  of  sweet  wood ; then, 
putting  it  into  a vessel  for  that  purpose,  they 


PUNISHMENTS , MORALS,  ETC. 


131 


go  offer  it  to  the  idol,  and  placing  it  before 
him  make  a low  bow  and  depart.  This  is 
their  worship.1 

For  their  belief,  they  are  of  opinion  that 
he  who  lives  well  shall  be  rewarded,  and  he 
who  lives  ill  shall  be  punished.  Beyond 
this  they  know  nothing  of  preaching  nor  of 
mvsteries,  and  therefore  thev  have  no  dis- 
putes  of  religion,  all  believing  and  practicing 
the  same  thing  throughout  the  kingdom.2 
The  religious  men  offer  perfumes  before  an 
idol  twice  a day  and  on  festivals ; all  the  re- 
ligious of  a house  make  a noise  with  drums, 
basins  and  kettles.  The  monasteries  and 
temples,  with  which  the  kingdom  swarms, 

'Called  by  foreigners  “joss-sticks.”  “Joss”  or  “Josh”  is 
merely  the  corruption  of  the  European  missionary’s  word  Deus 
or  Deos  as  it  issues  from  a Chinaman’s  mouth.  The  Chinese 
think  it  a foreign,  and  the  Europeans  a Chinese,  word. 

* Hamel,  evidently  a pious  Hollander  well  trained  in  the 
Heidelberg  Catechism,  and  arriving  home  during  the  height 
of  the  Cocceian  and  Voetian  controversy,  gives  by  contrast  too 
sweeping  a generalization.  It  may  be  more  accurate  to  state 
that  the  educated  classes  (except  the  priests)  are  Confucianists, 
the  masses  are  Buddhists,  and  all  are  much  under  the  influence 
of  the  ancient  local  superstitions.  Only  the  king  and  higher 
magistrates  perform  public  worship  by  sacrifice.  The  common 
people  worship  their  ancestors  and  bum  incense  to  the  family 
memorial  -tabl  ets. 


132 


COREA. 


are  for  the  most  part  on  the  mountains,  each 
under  the  liberty  of  some  town.  There  are 
monasteries  of  five  or  six  hundred  religious 
men,  and  at  least  four  thousand  of  them 
within  the  liberties  of  some  towns.  They 
are  divided  into  companies  of  ten,  twenty, 
and  sometimes  thirty,  and  the  eldest  gov- 
erns; and  if  any  one  does  not  do  his  duty 
he  may  cause  the  others  to  punish  him 
with  twenty  or  thirty  strokes  on  the  but- 
tocka;  but  if  the  offence  be  heinous  they 
deliver  him  up  to  the  governor  of  the  town 
to  which  they  belong. 

It  being  lawful  for  any  man  to  become  a 
religious,  all  the  country  of  Corea  is  full  of 
them,  and  the  more  because  they  can  quit 
this  profession  when  they  please ; however, 
generally  speaking,  these  religious  men  are 
not  much  more  respected  than  the  slaves, 
because  of  the  great  taxes  they  are  obliged 
to  pay  and  the  work  they  are  forced  to  do. 
Their  superiors  are  in  great  esteem,  especial- 
ly when  they  are  learned,  for  then  they  are 
equal  with  the  great  men  of  the  country, 
and  are  called  the  “ king’s  religious  men,” 
wearing  their  order  over  their  clothes  ; they 


PUNISHMENTS,  MORALS,  ETC.  133 

have  the  power  of  judging  as  subaltern  offi- 
cers, and  make  their  visits  on  horseback, 
being  very  well  received  and  entertained  in 
all  places. 

These  religious  must  eat  nothing  that  has 
had  life ; they  shave  their  heads  and  beards, 
and  are  forbid  conversing  with  women.  If 
any  of  them  breaks  these  rules  they  give 
him  seventy  or  eighty  strokes  on  the  but- 
tocks and  banish  him  the  monastery.  When 
they  are  first  shaved,  or  soon  after,  they  give 
them  a mark  on  the  arm,1  which  never  wears 
off,  and  by  that  those  are  known  who  have 
once  been  religious  men.  They  work  for 
their  living  or  use  some  trade ; some  go  a- 
begging,  and  all  of  them  have  some  small 
allowance  from  the  governor.  They  always 
keep  little  children  in  their  houses,  whom 
they  very  carefully  teach  to  read  and  write. 
If  these  children  will  be  shaved,  they  keep 
them  in  their  service,  and  have  all  that  they 
can  earn  till  the  master  dies,  which  makes 
them  free  and  heirs  to  all  their  goods ; for 
this  reason  they  are  obliged  to  wear  mourn- 
ing for  them,  as  for  their  father,  in  return 

1 By  burning  the  moxa  into  the  flesh. 


134 


COREA. 


for  all  the  pains  they  have  taken  to  instruct 
and  bring  them  up. 

The  monasteries  and  temples  are  built  at 
the  public  charge,  every  one  contributing 
proportionably  to  what  he  is  worth. 

There  is  still  another  sort  of  people  like 
these  religious  men,  as  well  in  regard  of  their 
abstinence  as  their  serving  the  idols,  but  they 
are  not  shorn  and  may  marry.  They  believe, 
by  tradition,  that  once  all  mankind  had  but 
one  language,  but  that  the  design  of  building 
a tower  to  go  up  to  heaven  caused  the  con- 
fusion of  tongues.  The  nobles  frequent  the 
monasteries  very  much  to  divert  themselves 
there  with  gross  amusements  and  dissipa- 
tion, because  they  are  generally  deliciously 
seated  and  very  pleasant  for  prospect  and 
fine  gardens,  so  that  they  might  better  be 
called  pleasure-houses  than  temples ; which 
is  to  be  understood  of  the  common  mon- 
asteries, where  the  religious  men  love  to 
drink  hard.  In  our  time  there  were  two 
monasteries  of  religious  women  in  the 
city  of  Seoul ; in  one  of  them  there  were 
none  but  women  of  quality ; in  the  other, 
maids  of  the  common  sort.  They  were  all 


PUNISHMENTS,  MORALS,  ETC.  135 

shorn,  and  observed  the  same  rules  and 
duties  as  the  men.  The  king  and  great  men 
maintained  them,  but  three  or  four  years 
since  the  king  now  reigning  gave  them  leave 
to  marry. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE,  HOUSES,  MARRIAGE,  EDUCA- 
TION, MOURNING  AND  BURIAL. 

HAYING  spoken  of  the  government  and 
ecclesiastical  affairs,  I shall  now  descend 
to  private  matters.  The  houses  of  the  Co- 
reans  of  quality  are  stately,  but  those  of  the 
common  sort  very  mean  ; nor  are  they  al- 
lowed to  build  as  they  please.  No  man  can 
cover  his  house  with  tiles  unless  he  have 
leave  so  to  do  ; for  which  reason  most  of 
them  are  thatched  with  straw  or  reeds. 
They  are  parted  from  one  another  by  a wall 
or  else  by  a row  of  stakes  or  palisades.  They 
are  built  with  wooden  posts  or  pillars,  with 
the  interval  betwixt  them  filled  up  with 
stone  up  to  the  first  story  ; the  rest  of  the 
structure  is  all  daubed  without,  and  covered 
on  the  inside  with  white  paper  glued  on. 
The  floors  are  all  vaulted,  and  in  winter  they 
make  a fire  underneath,  so  that  they  are  al- 

136 


DOMESTIC  LIFE,  ETC. 


137 


ways  as  warm  as  a stove ; 1 the  floor  is  covered 
with  oiled  paper.  Their  houses  are  small, 
but  one  story  high,  and  a garret  over  it, 
where  they  lay  up  their  provisions.  The 
nobility  have  always  an  apartment  forward, 
where  they  receive  their  friends  and  lodge 
their  acquaintance;2  and  there  they  divert 
themselves,  there  being  generally  before  their 
houses  a large  square,  or  bass  court,  with  a 
fountain  or  fish-pond,  and  a garden  with 
covered  walks.  The  women’s  apartment  is 
in  the  most  retired  part  of  the  house,  that 
nobody  may  see  them. 

Tradesmen  and  the  chief  townsmen  gen- 
erally have  a store-house  adjoining  to  their 

1 The  hang,  or  floor  of  stone  or  brick  heated  by  a network  of 
flues  that  run  underneath  from  the  kitchen  fire  to  the  chimney 
out  the  opposite  end  of  the  house,  is  common  to  all  North  -eastern 
Asia.  Little  bed-clothing  is  required,  but  the  rooms  are  apt  to 
be  uncomfortably  hot  or  chilly,  and  in  old  houses  smoky  and 
full  of  kitchen  odors.  A recent  foreign  traveler  in  Corea  speaks 
of  waking  up  in  the  morning  after  a night’s  sleep  on  the  heated 
floor  as  “feeling  like  a well-done  mutton  chop.” 

2 These  social  gatherings,  open  to  all  comers,  form  perhaps 
the  most  striking  feature  of  C'orean  social  life.  They  are  the 
substitutes  for  clubs  and  newspapers.  News  is  spread  easily,  and 
in  the  subsequent  propagation  of  Christianity  the  ante-room 
was  a powerful  means  ready  to  hand  in  which  the  new  ideas 
were  discussed. 


138 


COREA. 


mansion-house,  where  they  keep  their  goods 
and  treat  their  friends  with  tobacco  and  rice- 
spirits.  There  are  virtuous  women  among 
them,  who  are  allowed  the  liberty  of  seeing 
people  and  going  into  company  and  to  feasts, 
but  they  sit  by  themselves  and  opposite  to 
their  husbands.  They  have  scarce  any  more 
household  goods  than  are  absolutely  neces- 
sary. 

There  are  in  the  country  abundance  of 
taverns  and  pleasure-houses,  to  which  the 
Coreans  resort  to  see  women  dance,  sing  and 
play  upon  musical  instruments.  In  summer 
they  take  this  recreation  in  cool  groves  under 
close,  shady  trees.  They  have  no  particular 
houses  to  entertain  passengers  and  travelers, 
but  he  who  travels  goes  and  sits  down,  where 
night  overtakes  him,  near  the  palings  of  the 
first  house  he  comes  at,  where,  though  it  be 
not  a great  man’s  house,  they  bring  him 
boiled  rice  and  dressed  meat  enough  for  his 
supper.  When  he  goes  from  thence  he  may 
stop  at  another  house,  and  at  several ; yet  on 
the  great  road  to  Seoul  there  are  houses 
where  those  that  travel  on  public  affairs  have 
lodging  and  diet  on  the  public  account. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE,  ETC. 


139 


Kindred  are  not  allowed  to  marry  within 
the  fourth  degree.  They  make  no  love,  be- 
cause they  are  married  at  eight  or  ten  years 
of  age ; and  the  young  maids  from  that  time 
live  in  their  father-in-law’s  house,  unless 
they  be  only  daughters ; they  live  in  the 
husband’s  father’s  house  till  they  have  learnt 
to  get  their  living  or  to  govern  their  family. 
The  day  a man  marries  he  mounts  on  horse- 
back attended  by  his  friends,  and,  having 
ridden  about  the  town,  he  stops  at  his  bride’s 
door,  where  he  is  very  well  received  by  the 
kindred,  who  take  the  bride  and  carry  her 
to  his  house,  where  the  marriage  is  consum- 
mated without  any  other  ceremony.1 

1 A foreigner  may  live  many  years  in  an  Asiatic  country,  and, 
never  seeing  a marriage  ceremony,  conclude  that  there  is  none. 
The  French  missionaries  thus  describe  the  nuptial  solemnities: 
Both  the  groom  and  bride  have  the  style  of  their  hair 
changed  from  that  of  the  minor  to  that  of  the  married  state, 
the  hair-dressing  being  done  in  each  case  by  a near  friend 
called  “ the  hand  of  honor,”  who  is  specially  chosen  as  a mark 
of  confidence.  The  wedding  platform  or  dais,  richly  decorated, 
is  set  up  in  the  house  of  the  groom.  The  bride,  dressed  in  her 
very  best  clothes  and  jewelry,  perfumed  and  beautified,  takes 
her  place  on  the  platform,  her  future  husband  ascending  from 
the  opposite  side.  They  make  profound  salutations  to  each 
other,  but  utter  not  a word.  This  is  the  ceremony.  The  pair 
then  separate,  retiring  to  their  particular  apartments  or  to  the 
company  of  his  or  her  sex.  Feasting  and  mirth  fill  out  the 


140 


COREA. 


Though  a woman  has  borne  her  husband 
many  children,  it  is  in  his  power  to  put  her 
away  when  he  pleases,  and  to  take  another ; 
but  the  woman  has  not  the  same  privilege 
unless  she  can  get  it  by  law.  To  say  the 
truth,  they  make  no  great  account  of  their 
wives,  and  use  them  little  better  than  slaves, 
turning  them  away  for  the  least  faults,  and 
sometimes  on  bare  pretences,  and  then  they 
force  them  to  take  their  children,  whom 
those  poor  wretches  are  bound  to  main- 
tain.1 

The  nobility,  and  all  freemen  in  general, 
take  great  care  of  the  education  of  their 
children,  and  put  them  very  young  to  learn 
to  read  and  write,  to  which  that  nation  is 


day  or  week,  and  the  groom’s  family  must  be  unstinting  in  their 
hospitality  to  the  company  assembled.  The  bride  must  preserve 
absolute  silence  during  the  whole  of  the  wedding-day.  The 
groom  usually  wears  a cap  made  in  special  fashion,  and  the 
bride  a veil,  with  ornaments  on  breast,  back  and  girdle.  The 
bridemaids  pour  out  the  wine,  or  cup  of  mutual  joy,  and  one  or 
more  of  the  emblems  of  nuptial  happiness  or  conjugal  fidelity 
— such  as  a goose,  dried  pheasant,  rice-wine,  gourds  tied  with 
colored  thread,  and  curious  shapes  in  twisted  or  plaited  straw — 
grace  the  feast.  A sort  of  marriage  certificate  is  also  signed. 

1 By  all  accounts,  the  condition  of  Corean  women  is,  from  a 
Christian  point  of  view,  unspeakably  wretched.  See  chapter 
xxviii.  in  Corea,  the  Hermit  Nation. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE,  ETC. 


141 


much  addicted.1  They  use  no  manner  of 
rigor  in  their  method  of  teaching,  but  man- 
age all  by  fair  means,  giving  their  schol- 
ars an  idea  of  learning  and  of  the  worth 
of  their  ancestors,  and  telling  them  how 
honorable  those  are  who  by  this  means  have 
raised  themselves  to  great  fortunes,  which 
breeds  emulation  and  makes  them  studious. 
It  is  wonderful  to  see  how  they  improve  by 
these  means,  and  how  they  expound  the 
writings  they  give  them  to  read,  wherein  all 
their  learning  consists.2  Besides  this  private 
study,  there  is  in  every  town  a house  where 
the  nobility,  according  to  ancient  custom — of 
which  they  are  very  tenacious — take  care  to 


1 According  to  many  testimonies,  the  Corean  gentlemen  are, 
as  a rule,  good  critical  students  of  the  Chinese  classics  and  very 
thorough  in  Chinese  composition,  the  language  of  Confucius 
and  Mencius  being  their  Latin.  They  correspond  and  compose 
fluently  in  the  Chinese  style  of  about  two  centuries  ago.  Of  course 
very  few  except  the  trained  interpreters  can  speak  the  vernac- 
ular of  China,  whether  in  the  local  dialects  or  in  mandarin  col- 
loquial. With  pen  and  pencil,  however,  one  educated  in  the 
Chinese  characters  can  easily  converse  on  paper  with  his  equals 
in  Japan,  Corea,  Manchuria,  China,  Mongolia,  Annarn,  Cochin- 
China,  and  other  parts  of  Chinese  Asia. 

2 Corean  education,  as  in  mediaeval  Europe,  is  purely  scholas- 
tic, mathematics  and  science  not  being  a part  of  general  culture, 
but  only  the  tools  of  specialists. 


142 


COREA. 


assemble  the  youth,  to  make  them  read  the 
history  of  the  country  and  the  condemna- 
tions of  great  men  who  have  been  put  to 
death  for  their  crimes.  To  perfect  them  in 
their  learning  there  are  assemblies  kept 
yearly  in  two  or  three  towns  of  each  prov- 
ince, where  the  scholars  appear  to  get  em- 
ployment, either  by  the  pen  or  by  the 
sword.1  The  governors  of  towns  send  able 
deputies  thither  to  examine  them  and  choose 
the  best  qualified,  and  according  to  the  report 
to  them  they  write  to  the  king.  The  great- 
est men  in  the  kingdom  are  there,  whether 
they  are  in  office  or  not.  Their  employ- 
ments are  bestowed  on  those  that  are  thought 
worthy,  and  the  king  orders  their  commis- 
sions to  be  issued.  The  old  officers,  who  till 
then  have  only  had  civil  or  military  commis- 
sions, at  this  time  use  all  their  endeavors  to 
be  employed  in  both  professions  to  increase 
their  revenue.  The  aspiring  to  these  honors 
is  often  the  ruin  of  the  candidates,  because 
of  the  presents  they  make  and  treats  they 

1 These  are  the  competitive  literary  examinations  for  appoint- 
ments to  civil  and  military  service.  The  more  detailed  descrip- 
tions of  them  given  by  the  French  missionaries  agree  exactly 
with  Hamel’s  sketch. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE,  ETC. 


143 


give  to  gain  reputation  and  obtain  votes. 
Some  there  are  also  that  die  by  the  way,  and 
most  of  them  are  satisfied  with  getting  the 
title  of  the  employ  they  aim  at,  thinking  it 
honor  enough  to  have  been  designed  for  a 
post. 

Parents  are  very  indulgent  to  their  chil- 
dren, and  in  return  are  much  respected  by 
them.  They  depend  upon  one  another’s 
good  behavior,  and  if  one  of  them  withdraws 
after  an  ill  action  the  other  does  the  like. 
It  is  otherwise  with  the  slaves,  who  have 
little  care  of  their  children,  because  they 
know  they  will  be  taken  from  them  as  soon 
as  they  are  able  to  work  or  do  any  business. 

When  a freemen  dies  his  children  mourn 
three  years,  and  during  all  that  time  they 
live  as  austerely  as  the  religious  men,  are  not 
capable  of  any  employment,  and  if  any  of 
them  is  in  a post  he  must  quit  it.  It  is  not 
permitted  them  to  be  in  a passion  or  to  fight, 
much  less  to  be  drunk.  The  mourning  they 
wear  is  a long  hempen  robe,  without  any- 
thing under  it  but  a sort  of  sackcloth  woven 
with  a twisted  thread  almost  as  thick  as  the 
twine  of  a cable.  On  their  hats,  which  are 


144 


COREA. 


made  of  green  reeds  woven  together,  instead 
of  a hatband  they  wear  a hempen  rope. 
They  never  go  without  a great  cane  or  cud- 
gel in  their  hand,1  which  serves  to  distinguish 
who  they  are  in  mourning  for,  the  cane  de- 
noting the  father,  and  a stick  the  mother. 
During  all  this  time  they  never  wash,  and 
consequently  look  like  mulattoes.2 

As  soon  as  one  dies,  his  kindred  run  about 
the  streets  shrieking  and  tearing  their  hair  ; 
then  they  take  special  care  to  bury  him  hon- 
orably in  some  part  of  a mountain  shown 

1 Several  observers  of  Corean  life  from  shipboard  in  giving 
their  impressions  of  the  people  speak  of  the  men  “armed  with 
clubs,”  supposing  these  emblems  of  mourning  to  be  weapons  of 
offence. 

2 During  this  long  period  of  mourning  they  are  neither  ex- 
pected to  speak  nor  to  be  spoken  to  in  public,  and  may  refuse 
to  answer  any  questions  put  to  them.  A noble  in  mourning  is 
exempted  from  arrest,  and  as  the  head-dress  completely  covers 
the  face,  the  wearer  cannot  be  recognized.  It  will  be  seen  at 
once  what  a perfect  disguise  is  at  hand  for  the  adventurous 
traveler  into  this  once  “forbidden  land.”  It  was  by  means  of 
this  mourning  dress  that  the  French  Humanist  missionaries 
were  enabled  to  baffle  the  vigilance  of  the  guards,  and,  passing 
the  barriers  by  land  and  sea,  to  live  in  Corea,  even  at  Seoul, 
though  outlawed  and  with  a price  set  on  their  heads.  Japanese 
travelers  have  also  gratified  their  curiosity  by  penetrating  the 
interior  in  this  safe  disguise.  Absconders  and  criminals  also 
make  use  of  it.  To  be  detected,  however,  jlayranle  delicto,  is  to 
invite  certain  death. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE,  ETC. 


145 


them  by  a fortune-teller.  They  use  two 
coffins  for  every  dead  body,  being  two  or 
three  fingers  thick,  shut  close,  and  put  one 
within  the  other  to  keep  out  the  water,  paint- 
ing and  adorning  them  as  every  one  is  able. 
They  generally  bury  their  dead  in  spring 
and  autumn.  As  for  those  that  die  in  sum- 
mer, they  put  them  into  a thatched  hut  raised 
upon  four  stakes,  where  they  leave  them  till 
rice-harvest  is  over.  When  they  intend  to 
bury  them  they  bring  them  back  into  the 
house,  and  shut  up  in  their  coffins  with  them 
their  clothes  and  some  jewels.  In  the  morn- 
ing, at  break  of  day,  they  set  out  with  the 
body,  after  a good  repast  and  making  merry 
all  the  night.  The  bearers  sing  and  keep 
time  as  they  go,  whilst  the  kindred  make  the 
air  ring  with  their  cries.  Three  days  after 
the  kindred  and  friends  of  the  party  deceased 
return  to  the  grave,  where  the}7  make  some 
offerings,  and  then  they  eat  together  and  are 
very  merry.  The  meaner  sort  only  make  a 
grave  five  or  six  feet  deep,  but  the  great  men 
are  put  into  stone  tombs  raised  on  a statue 
of  the  same  substance ; at  the  bottom 
whereof  is  the  name  carved,  with  the  quali- 
10 


146 


COREA. 


fications  of  tlie  party  there  buried,  mention- 
ing what  employments  he  enjoyed.1  Every 
full  moon  they  cut  down  the  grass  that  grows 
on  the  grave,  and  offer  new  rice  there  ; that 
is  their  greatest  festival,  next  to  the  New 
Year.  They  reckon  by  moons,  and  every 
three  years  they  add  one,  so  that  the  third 
year  has  thirteen,  whereas  the  other  two  have 
but  twelve  moons  each.  They  have  conju- 
rers, diviners  or  soothsayers,  who  assure 
them  whether  the  dead  are  at  rest  or  not, 
and  whether  the  place  where  they  are  buried 
is  proper  for  them  ; in  which  point  they  are 
so  superstitious  that  it  often  happens  they 
will  remove  them  two  or  three  times. 

When  the  children  have  fully  performed 
the  duty  they  owe  to  the  father  and  mother 
by  means  of  this  tedious  ceremony,  if  they 
have  left  any  estate  the  eldest  son  takes  pos- 
session of  the  house  that  belongs  to  him, 
with  all  the  lands  depending  on  it.  The  rest 
is  divided  among  the  other  sons,  and  we 

1 Some  of  these  tombs  are  of  elaborate  masonry.  The  “stat- 
ues ” are  usually  square  posts  carved  at  the  top  into  a rude 
representation  of  a human  head  or  face  of  a grotesque  or  com- 
ical appearance,  often  producing,  amid  the  tall  grass,  a ghost- 
like effect. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE,  ETC. 


147 


never  heard  that  the  daughters  had  any 
share,  because  the  women  carry  nothing  to 
their  husbands  but  their  clothes.  When  a 
father  is  fourscore  years  of  age  he  declares 
himself  incapable  of  managing  his  estate  and 
resigns  it  up  to  his  children,  who  maintain 
their  father  and  always  pay  him  a great  deal 
of  respect.  When  the  eldest  has  taken  pos- 
session of  the  estate  he  builds  a house  at  the 
public  expense  for  his  father  and  mother, 
where  he  lodges  and  maintains  them. 


CHAPTER  X I Y. 


NA  TIONA  L TRA ITS  A ND  HA  BITS  ; WEIGHTS  A ND 
MEASURES;  WRITING ; THE  KING  AND  THE 
AMBASSADOR. 

THE  Coreans  are  very  much  addicted  to 
stealing,  and  so  apt  to  cheat  and  lie  that 
there  is  no  trusting  them.  They  think  they 
have  done  a good  action  when  they  have 
overreached  a man,  and  therefore  fraud  is 
not  infamous  among  them  ; yet  if  a man  can 
prove  that  he  has  been  cheated  in  a bargain 
of  horses,  cows,  or  any  other  thing  whatso- 
ever, he  may  be  righted,  though  it  be  three 
or  four  months  after.  Nevertheless,  they 
are  silly  and  credulous,  and  we  might  have 
made  them  believe  anything  we  would,  be- 
cause they  are  great  lovers  of  strangers,  but 
chiefly  the  religious  men. 

They  are  an  effeminate  people,  and  show 
very  little  courage  and  resolution  when  they 
are  put  to  it.  At  least,  we  were  told  so  by 

148 


NATIONAL  TRAITS  AND  HABITS.  149 


several  credible  persons,  who  were  witnesses 
to  the  havoc  the  emperor  of  Japan  made 
in  their  country  when  he  slew  their  king;1 
not  to  mention  what  Wetterree  so  often  told 
us  about  the  irruption  of  the  Tartar,  who, 
coming  over  upon  the  ice,  possessed  himself 
of  the  kingdom.2  He  assured  us,  as  one 
that  had  been  an  eye-witness  to  the  whole, 
that  more  Coreans  died  in  the  woods,  whither 
they  fled,  than  were  killed  hy  the  enemy. 
They  are  not  ashamed  of  cowardice,  and  la- 
ment the  misfortune  of  those  that  must  fight. 
They  have  often  been  repulsed  with  loss 
when  they  have  attempted  to  plunder  some 
European  vessel  that  has  been  cast  on  their 
coast,  being  bound  for  Japan. 

They  abhor  blood,  and  fly  when  they  meet 
with  any.  They  are  much  afraid  of  the  sick, 
and  particularly  of  those  that  have  contagious 
distempers,  and  therefore  they  presently  re- 
move them,  whether  they  are  in  the  town  or 
country,  and  put  them  into  little  straw  hovels 
in  the  middle  of  the  fields.  There  nobody 

1 Kato,  the  Japanese  general,  took  the  sons  of  the  king  pris- 
oner, but  none  of  the  royal  family  were  slain.  See  page  31. 

2 See  page  34. 


150 


COREA. 


talks  to  them,  but  only  those  that  are  to  look 
after  them,  who  give  notice  to  passengers  to 
keep  off ; and  when  the  sick  man  has  no 
friends  to  take  care  of  him,  the  others  rather 
let  him  die  than  they  will  come  near  him. 

When  there  is  a plague  in  one  town  or 
village,  the  avenues  to  it  are  shut  up  with  a 
hedge  of  briers  and  brambles,  and  they  lay  some 
on  the  tops  of  the  houses  where  there  are  any 
sick,  that  all  people  may  know  it.  They 
might,  when  they  are  sick,  make  use  of  the 
simples  that  grow  in  their  country,  but  the 
people  are  not  acquainted  with  them,  and 
almost  all  the  physicians  are  employed  by 
the  great  ones ; so  that  the  poor,  who  cannot 
be  at  that  charge,  make  use  of  blind  men 
and  conjurers,  in  whom  they  once  reposed 
such  great  confidence  that  they  followed  them 
everywhere,  across  rivers  and  rocks,  and  par- 
ticularly into  the  temples  of  the  idols,  where 
they  called  upon  the  devils.  But  this  cus- 
tom was  abolished  by  the  king’s  order  in  the 
year  1662. 

Before  the  Tartar  subdued  this  kingdom 
it  was  full  of  luxury  and  debauchery,  the 
Coreans’  whole  business  being  eating  and 


NATIONAL  TRAITS  AND  HABITS.  151 


drinking  and  giving  themselves  up  to  all 
lewdness.  But  now  that  the  Tartars  and 
Japanese  tyrannize  over  them,1  they  have 
enough  to  do  to  live  when  a year  proves  bad, 
because  of  the  heavy  tribute  they  pay,  and 
particularly  to  the  Tartar,  who  comes  three 
times  a year  to  receive  it. 

They  believe  there  are  but  twelve  king- 
doms or  countries  in  the  whole  world,  which 
once  were  all  subject  and  paid  tribute  to  the 
emperor  of  China,2  but  that  they  have  all 
made  themselves  free  since  the  Tartar  con- 
quered China,  he  not  beiug  able  to  subdue 
them.  They  call  the  Tartar  Tiekse3  and 
Orankay,  and  our  country  Nampankouk,4 
which  is  the  name  the  Japanese  give  to  Por- 

1 The  tribute  paid  to  Japan  did  not  cease  until  that  country 
became  involved  in  troubles  with  foreign  nations  after  the  trea- 
ties were  made.  When,  after  the  revolution  of  1868,  the  Mi- 

kado’s government  called  for  a renewal  of  tributary  relations, 
acts  of  war  between  the  two  countries  resulted. 

3 A tradition  from  the  Mongol  period,  when  Khublai  Khan 
ruled  from  the  Sea  of  Japan  to  the  Dneiper  River,  from  Corea 
to  the  Crimea. 

3 A corruption  of  Ten-shi  (Son  of  Heaven  ?) 

4 Nam  (south),  ban  (barbarian),  koku  (country),  “Country  of 
the  .Southern  Barbarians,”  a term  borrowed  from  the  Japanese, 
as  the  Portuguese  coming  in  1539  and  later  came  up  from  the 
south  to  Japan. 


152 


COREA. 


tugal,  and  therefore,  not  knowing  us,  they 
give  us  the  same  name,  having  learnt  it 
within  these  fifty  or  sixty  years ; since  then 
the  Japanese  taught  them  to  plant  tobacco, 
to  dress  and  make  use  of  it,  for  till  then  it 
was  unknown  to  them;  and  they  telling  them 
the  seed  of  it  came  from  Nampankouk,  they 
often  call  tobacco  Nampankoy.  They  take 
so  much  at  present  that  the  very  children 
practice  it  at  four  or  five  years  of  age,  and 
there  are  very  few  men  or  women  among 
them  that  do  not  smoke.  When  first  brought 
them  they  bought  it  for  its  weight  in  silver, 
and  for  that  reason  they  looked  upon  Nam- 
pankouk as  one  of  the  best  countries  in  the 
world. 

Their  writings  give  an  account  that  there 
are  fourscore  and  four  thousand  several  coun- 
tries ; but  most  of  them  do  not  believe  it,  and 
they  say  if  that  were  so  every  little  island 
and  land  must  pass  for  a country,  it  being 
impossible,  say  they,  for  the  sun  to  light  so 
many  in  a day.  When  we  named  some 
countries  to  them,  they  laughed  at  us,  affirm- 
ing we  only  talked  of  some  town  or  village; 
their  geographical  knowledge  of  the  coasts 


NATIONAL  TRA ITS  AND  HABITS.  153 


reaching  no  farther  than  Siam,  by  reason  of 
the  little  traffic  they  have  with  strangers  far- 
ther from  them.  They  have  scarce  any 
trade,  but  only  with  the  Japanese,  and  with 
the  people  of  the  island  of  Tsushima,  who 
have  a storehouse  in  the  south-west  part  of 
the  town  of  Pousan  [Pusan].  They  supply 
Corea  with  pepper,  sweet- wood,  alum,  buf- 
faloes’ horns,  goat-  and  buck-skins,  and  other 
commodities,  which  we  and  the  Chinese  sell 
in  Japan.  In  exchange,  they  take  the  prod- 
ucts and  manufactures  of  the  country.  The 
Coreans  have  also  some  trade  at  Peking  and 
in  the  northern  parts  of  China,1  but  it  is  very 
chargeable,  because  they  only  go  thither  by 
land  and  on  horseback.  None  but  the  rich 
merchants  of  Seoul2  trade  to  Peking,  and 

1 Since  1637,  at  Pien-mun  (Border-Gate),  fifty  miles  from  the 
Corean  frontier,  in  Manchuria,  a market  or  fair  h,as  been  held  four 
times  a year,  the  two  most  important  occasions  being  on  the  exit 
and  return  of  the  embassy  from  Seoul  to  Peking,  three  hundred 
persons,  officers,  merchants,  teamsters,  etc.,  being  in  the  latter. 
The  value  of  the  trade  was  about  half  a million  dollars  yearly. 
With  the  opening  of  the  ports  to  foreign  commerce  these  bor- 
der fairs  have  already  lost  their  importance. 

2 The  most  imposing  commercial  buildings  in  Seoul  are  the 
large  storehouses  belonging  to  the  guild  of  merchants,  who 
possessed  almost  a monopoly  of  the  trade  at  the  Border-Gate 
and  in  Peking. 


154 


COREA. 


are  always  three  months  at  least  on  the  way. 
This  whole  trade  is  in  linen  or  cotton  cloth. 
The  great  ones  and  chief  merchants  buy  and 
pay  for  all  with  money,  but  the  meaner  sort 
deal  only  with  rice  and  other  commodities 
by  way  of  barter. 

There  is  but  one  sort  of  weight  and  meas- 
ure1 throughout  the  kingdom,  but  the  traders 
abuse  it  very  much,  notwithstanding  all  pre- 
cautions and  orders  of  the  governors.  They 
know  no  money  but  their  casis,2  and  those 

1 The  Corean  scale  is  the  steelyard,  large  and  small.  The 
unit  of  weight  is  the  kiun,  or  pound,  which  is  divided  like  our 
own  into  sixteen  parts  ( niang ).  After  the  niang  are  decimal 
divisions,  ton,  pun,  and  ri.  A niang,  or  ounce,  equals  1.2  of  our 
ounces,  or  38  grammes.  The  measures  of  length  are  based  on 
the  pal,  or  arm,  or  the  kil  (measure  of  a man),  which  have  deci- 
mal subdivisions.  The  hop,  or  handful,  with  decimal  subdivis- 
ions, is  the  unit  of  cubic  measure;  and  the  chong-ja,  or  “ little 
cup,”  of  liquid  measure.  Measures  of  arable  land  are  based 
upon  the  amount  of  rice  or  other  grain  sown  on  it. 

2 Hitherto,  the  only  money  coined  in  Corea  was  the  “nip"  or 
pun,  which  is  like  the  Chinese  iron,  brass  or  bronze  “ cash,” 
which  is  counted  in  strings : 100  cash  are  equal  to  about  19 
cents,  or  from  630  to  670  “cash”  equal  one  tael,  or  ounce,  of 
silver.  In  old  times  8.50  taels  of  silver  were  equivalent  to  1 tael 
of  gold.  The  writer  has  recently  seen  the  new  Corean  silver 
coins,  about  the  size  of  a half-dollar,  stamped  or  cast  with  Chi- 
nese characters,  and  blue  enamel  in  the  centre.  This  new  coin- 
age of  1883,  if  not  debased,  will  displace  the  old  golddust,  bars 
and  nuggets  of  barter.  The  latest  issue  of  silver  money  (1884) 
is  sufficiently  alloyed  to  keep  it  in  the  kingdom. 


NATIONAL  TRAITS  AND  HABITS.  155 


pass  only  on  the  frontiers  of  China.  They 
pay  silver  by  weight  in  little  ingots,  like 
those  we  bring  from  Japan. 

Their  language,  their  way  of  writing  and 
their  arithmetic  are  very  hard  to  learn. 
They  have  many  words  to  express  the  same 
thing,1  and  they  sometimes  talk  fast  and 
sometimes  slow,  especially  their  learned  men 
and  great  lords.  They  use  three  several 
sorts  of  writing — the  first  and  cliiefest  like 
that  of  China  and  Japan,  which  they  use  for 
printing  their  books  and  for  all  public  affairs. 
The  second  is  like  the  common  writing:  among; 
us.  The  great  men  and  governors  use  it  to 
answer  petitions  and  make  notes  on  letters  of 
advice,  or  the  like  ; the  commonalty  cannot 
read  this  writing.  The  third  is  more  unpol- 
ished, and  serves  women  and  the  common 
sort.  It  is  easier  to  write  in  this  character 
than  the  others,  names  and  things  never  be- 
fore heard  of  being  noted  down  with  very 
curious  fine  pencils.2  They  have  abundance 

1 The  Corean  language  is  very  rich  in  certain  classes  of  syn- 
onyms. 

3 The  three  sorts  of  writing  are  the  “square,”  “grass”  or 
“running”  hand  in  script  (which  are  the  Chinese  characters), 
and  the  Corean  ; which  last  is  the  easiest,  and  is  chiefly  for  the 


156 


COREA. 


of  old  books,  both  printed1  and  manuscript, 
so  choicely  kept  that  none  but  the  king’s 
brother  is  trusted  with  them.  Copies  of 
them  with  cuts  are  kept  in  several  towns, 
that  in  case  of  fire  they  may  not  be  quite 
lost.  Their  almanacs  are  made  in  China, 
they  themselves  wanting  skill  to  make  them. 
They  print  with  boards  or  wooden  cuts,  and 
lay  one  cut  to  each  side  of  the  paper,  and  so 
strike  off  a leaf.  They  cast  accounts  with 
little  long  sticks,2  as  we  do  with  counters. 

unlearned.  It  is,  however,  beautifully  phonetic,  and  hence  can 
be  easily  used  to  note  down  foreign  names  and  words.  The  Co- 
rean  alphabet  consists  of  twenty-five  letters — eleven  vowels  and 
fourteen  consonants — classified  according  to  the  organs  of  speech, 
and  forms  one  of  the  most  simple  and  perfect  alphabets  and 
syllabaries  in  the  world. 

1 The  researches  of  Mr.  Ernest  Satow  of  Tokio  have  shown 
that  the  Coreans  possessed  the  art  of  printing  from  wooden 
blocks  as  early  as  the  eighth,  and  practiced  it  fully  by  the 
twelfth,  century.  A Corean  book  is  known  which  dates  from 
the  period  1317-24,  or  over  one  hundred  years  before  the  earliest 
printed  European  book.  During  the  fifteenth  century,  as  early 
a6  1420,  the  use  of  metal  type,  made  by  moulding  and  casting, 
was  common.  A Corean  author  claims  that  the  art  of  mould- 
ing movable  copper  type  was  invented  in  Corea  as  early  as  the 
fourteenth  century.  Among  the  spoils  brought  back  by  the 
victorious  Japanese  generals  in  1497  were  quantities  of  Corean 
books  printed  from  cast  movable  types.  (See  Satow,  “History 
of  Printing  in  Japan,”  Trans.  Asiatic  Society  of  Japan,  vol.  x.) 

2 See  Corea,  the  Hermit  Nation,  p.  454. 


NATIONAL  TRA  ITS  AND  HABITS.  157 


They  know  not  how  to  keep  books  of  account 
or  shop-books,  but  when  they  buy  anything 
they  set  down  the  price  under  it,  and  write 
on  it  what  they  made  of  it. 

When  the  king  goes  abroad,  he  is  attended 
by  all  the  nobility  of  the  court,  wearing  the 
badge  of  his  order,  or  piece  of  embroidery 
before  and  behind,  on  a garment  of  black 
silk  with  a very  broad  scarf,  a great  body 
of  soldiers  following  in  good  order.  Before 
him  go  men  on  horseback  and  others  on  foot, 
some  of  them  carrying  colors  and  banners 
and  the  others  playing  on  several  warlike  in- 
struments. They  are  followed  by  the  life- 
guards, which  are  made  up  of  the  chief 
burghers  of  the  town.  The  king  is  in  the 
middle,  carried  under  a very  rich  gold  can- 
opy, and  proceeds  with  such  silence  that  the 
least  noise  is  not  heard.1  Just  before  him 

1 A correspondent,  “ Juniper,”  of  The  North  China  Daily  News 
of  Feb.  12, 1884,  writing  from  Seoul  (pronounced  Sowl),  describes 
the  procession  of  the  king  in  terms  which  show  that  Hamel’s 
picture  in  the  seventeenth  and  “Juniper’s”  in  the  nineteenth 
century  are  one  in  substance.  “Juniper”  adds:  “ No  such  bar- 
baric array  can  long  exist  in  a country  to  which  foreign  carriages 
and  other  Western  conveniences  have  already  found  their  way, 
and  it  seems  almost  possible  that  the  state  procession  in  historic 
form  will  never  again  take  place  in  Corea.” 


158 


COREA. 


goes  a secretary  of  state,  or  some  other  great 
officer,  with  a little  box,  into  which  he  puts 
all  the  petitions  and  memorials  private  per- 
sons present  upon  the  end  of  a long  cane,  or 
which  they  hang  along  the  walls  or  palings, 
so  that  they  cannot  see  who  prefers  them. 
Those  that  are  appointed  to  gather  them 
bring  them  to  the  secretary,  who  puts  them 
into  the  little  box,  and  when  the  king  returns 
into  his  palace1  they  are  all  laid  before  him 

1 This  palace,  so  often  referred  to  by  Hamel,  and  which  was 
perhaps  the  finest  public  building  in  the  kingdom,  was  burned 
by  accident  a few  years  ago.  It  was  recently  visited  by  travel- 
ers, who  speak  of  its  white  granite  walls,  spacious  grounds,  pa- 
vilion, and  pleasure-lake  “edged  with  a coping  of  solid  granite 
blocks,  with  carved  urns  of  stone  and  other  ornamental  works 
placed  round  the  lake  at  regular  intervals.  The  water  is  full 
of  lotus-flowers  in  summer.”  The  pavilion,  approached  by 
three  bridges  of  solid  granite,  is  over  a hundred  feet  long  by 
ninety  wide,  and  is  supported  on  huge  granite  monoliths  at  least 
eight  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base  and  about  eighteen  feet  high, 
“ the  ceiling  being  highly  decorated  and  painted.  The  king’s 
private  palace  was  wholly  consumed,  but  the  king’s  audience- 
hall  still  stands  upon  five  terraces  of  granite.  The  roof,  sev- 
enty feet  high,  is  ceiled  with  wooden  panels  painted  with  flowers. 
The  centre  of  the  ceiling  is  occupied  by  two  large  golden  dragons 
elaborately  carved.  Every  inch  of  the  intricate  woodwork  of 
the  roof  and  beams  is  elaborately  painted  in  delicate  tints  with 
all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow.  The  roof  of  the  whole  structure 
is  supported  by  twelve  huge  polished  pillars  of  timber  four 
feet  thick,  composed  of  one  single  piece,  seventy  feet  in  height. 
The  Corean  trees  which  furnish  these  superb  columns  are  re- 


NATIONAL  TRA ITS  AND  HABITS.  159 


to  decide  what  is  to  be  done,  which  he  per- 
forms; and  his  orders  are  executed  out  of 
hand,  nobody  presuming  to  contradict  them. 

All  the  doors  and  windows  of  the  houses 
in  the  streets  through  which  the  king  passes 
are  shut,  and  nobody  does  presume  to  open 
the  least  cranny  of  them,  much  less  look 
over  the  wall  or  over  the  palings.  When 
the  king  passes  by  the  great  men  or  soldiers, 
they  must  turn  their  backs  to  him,  without 
daring  to  look  or  so  much  as  cough.  There- 
fore  upon  these  occasions  most  of  the  soldiers 
put  little  sticks  into  their  mouths,  that  they 
may  not  be  accused  of  making  a noise. 

When  the  Tartar’s  ambassador  comes,  the 
king,  going  in  person  with  all  his  court  out 
of  town  to  receive  him,  waits  upon  him  to 
his  lodging,  and  in  all  places  everybody  does 
him  as  much  or  more  honor  than  to  the  king. 
All  sorts  of  musicians,  dancers  and  vaulters 
go  before  him,  striving  who  shall  divert  him 
most.  Duriug  the  whole  time  the  Tartar  is 

nowned  in  China,  and  some  of  the  Peking  temples  are  also 
beautified  with  Corean  forest  columns.  In  the  queen’s  palace 
— in  many  of  the  rooms  of  which  the  woodwork  is  finely  carved 
and  polished — hang  paintings  of  landscapes  by  Corean  old 
masters.” 


160 


COREA. 


at  court  all  the  streets  from  his  lodging  to 
the  palace  are  lined  with  soldiers,  who  stand 
within  ten  or  twelve  feet  one  of  the  other. 
There  are  two  or  three  men  who  have  no 
other  employment  but  to  pick  up  notes 
thrown  out  of  the  Tartar’s  window  to  be 
carried  to  the  king,  who  desires  to  know 
what  the  ambassador  is  doing  at  all  times. 
To  conclude,  that  prince  studies  all  ways  to 
please  him,  endeavoring  by  all  manner  of 
courtesy  to  make  him  sensible  of  the  respect 
he  bears  the  Great  Khan,  that  he  may  make 
a favorable  report  concerning  him  to  his 
master. 

[Here  ends  Hamel’s  Narrative.] 


PART  III. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

RELIGION. 

“AS  for  religion,  the  Coreans  have  scarce 
JY  any.”  This  is  the  testimony  of  the 
Protestant  Dutchman  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. A Scotch  clergyman  who  spent  six 
weeks  of  the  autumn  of  1883  in  the  capital 
and  treaty-ports  seems  to  agree  with  Hamel. 
He  says  : “ What  in  Western  nations  is  usu- 
ally understood  by  the  term  ‘ religion  ’ has 
no  existence  in  Corea ; and  in  this  it  differs 
somewhat  from  the  other  countries  of  Asia.” 1 
French  Romanist  missionaries  who  have 
dwelt  long  in  the  land,  and  various  visiting 
travelers,  tell  the  same  story. 

Yet,  though  there  are  no  gorgeous  ritual 
systems,  voluminous  sacred  literature  or  dis- 
ciplined priesthoods,  as  in  Siam  or  Japan, 
there  is  a sad  deficiency  of  religion  of  the 
right  sort  in  the  peninsula.  The  national 

I Notes  on  Corea,  by  A.  W.  D.,  Shanghai,  1884. 

II  161 


162 


COREA. 


intellect  is  sunk  in  a tangled  network  of  su- 
perstitious. These  form  a baneful  re-ligion 
that  binds  and  holds  back  the  souls  of  her 
ten  millions  of  people  from  their  Creator, 
and  to  mental  slavery,  terror  and  the  gross 
darkness  of  ignorance.  The  preaching  of 
Christ  to  the  Coreans  will  be  a real  “ opening 
of  the  prison  to  them  that  are  bound.” 

There  are  three  distinct  strata  of  ideas 
which,  in  their  historic  order,  underlie  the 
native  belief.  These  are  the  aboriginal  fe- 
tichism  and  shamanism — worship  of  visible 
objects  and  invisible  imaginary  influences — 
Confucianism  and  Buddhism. 

All  three  of  these  phases  of  the  benighted 
Coreans’  faith  have  their  representative 
“temples.”  Yet  to  any  one  accustomed  to 
the  size  and  splendor  of  the  sacred  edifices 
of  China  and  Japan  this  word  has  scarcely 
any  meaning  for  Corea.  Most  of  the  village, 
and  even  of  the  city,  temples  are  surprising- 
ly small,  poor  and  bare.  In  Seoul  few  of 
the  Buddhist  temples  are  any  larger  than 
common  dwellings.  They  are,  as  a rule, 
recognized  merely  by  the  fluting  or  carving 
round  the  eaves  or  by  their  peculiar  gate- 


RELIGION. 


163 


ways.  In  the  villages  the  “ temples  ” are 
nothing  more  than  huts. 

One  of  these  village  shrines  not  far  from 
the  newly-opened  seaport  of  In-chiun  is 
thus  described : In  the  centre  of  a small 
grove  of  low  fir  trees,  on  a bluff  about  two 
hundred  yards  from  the  hamlet  of  nine 
houses,  was  the  sacred  structure — the  symbol 
of  the  aboriginal  religion,  of  which  Shinto 
(the  way  or  doctrine  of  the  gods)  is  the  an- 
alogue in  Japan.  It  consisted  of  a conical 
straw  hut,  nine  feet  high  and  the  same  in 
diameter  at  the  base,  in  the  shape  of  those 
old-fashioned  beehives  which  were  made  of 
twisted  straw  and  had  a small  square  hole  at 
the  base  for  the  entrance  of  the  bees.  In 
this  Corean  temple  the  opening  was  triangu- 
lar, three  feet  high,  and  faced  the  east.  In- 
side were  no  idols,  incense  or  pictures.  The 
ceiling  was  formed  of  bare  rough  poles  laid 
across  and  sloping  toward  the  back,  the  av- 
erage height  from  the  back  being  four  feet. 
At  the  rear  wall,  facing  the  opening  and  tied 
to  one  of  the  rafters,  hung  a bundle  of  strips 
of  white  paper — the  unmistakable  counter- 
part of  the  gohei,  or  wand  of  wood  holding 


164 


COREA. 


white  paper,  in  Japanese  temples.  On  these 
strips  of  paper  the  spirit  of  the  gods  is  sup- 
posed to  dwell.  It  is  believed  to  be  death 
for  an  ordinary  person  to  enter  these  shrines. 

GutzlafF  in  1832  was  unable  to  discover 
any  traces  of  idol-worship,  nor  did  he  ever 
witness  the  performance  of  religious  rites. 
On  visiting  the  village  temple  on  the  hill  he 
found  that  it  consisted  of  one  aj^artment 
hung  round  with  paper,  and  with  salt  fish  in 
the  middle.  No  idol  was  visible.  A small 
metal  dragon  rested  on  the  ground.  The 
names  of  the  contributors,  with  their  several 
sums,  were  carefully  noted  down. 

Comparatively  few  wayside  shrines,  so 
common  in  Japan,  are  seen  in  Corea,  but  the 
cemeteries  on  the  hills  or  mounds,  the  mile- 
stones carved  on  the  top  into  grotesque 
human  figures,  the  sacred  trees  gayly  hung 
with  colored  rags,  the  heaps  of  stone  laid 
beside  chosen  places  or  objects,  the  avoidance 
of  injury  to  serpents  and  the  feeding  of  these 
reptiles,  which  find  a home  in  the  foundation 
stones  or  thatched  roofs  of  the  houses,  are 
all  significant  of  the  primeval  religion. 

The  Chinese  superstition  called  Feng- 


Temple  Gateway  and  Court-yard.  Page  1G4. 


RELIGION. 


165 


shuey  (wind  and  water)  dominates  all  Corea 
and  gives  employment  to  crowds  of  sorcerers, 
fortune-tellers  and  geomancers,  who  fatten 
upon  the  purses  of  the  people.  No  Corean 
would  think  of  building  a house,  selecting  a 
field,  garden  or  tomb,  without  consulting  one 
of  these  gentry.  The  influences  of  the  spirits 
are  believed  to  be  ever  potent ; and  one  of 
the  common  sights  everywhere  is  the  pole 
stuck  up  on  mound  or  house  with  its  strap 
of  bells  or  tiny  cymbals  jingled  in  the  breeze 
to  ward  off  their  malign  breath.  Already 
the  empty  petroleum-cans  from  America  are 
utilized  to  rout  the  goblins.  Feng-shuey  is 
the  great  national  school  of  superstition  in 
which  innumerable  professors  teach  millions 
of  docile  pupils. 

The  air  is  far  from  empty  to  a Corean.  It 
is  populous  with  active  and  malignant  spirits. 
Every  tree,  mountain,  water-course,  and  even 
the  kitchen  or  chimney,  has  its  tutelary  genii, 
who  must  be  propitiated  by  prayer,  gifts  or 
penance  in  some  form  or  another. 

The  cult  professed  by  the  official  and  liter- 
ary class  is  founded  on  the  ethics  of  Confu- 
cius and  the  system  set  forth  in  the  classic 


166 


COREA. 


books  of  ancient  China.  Temples  in  honor 
of  the  sage  are  found  in  the  large  cities  of 
Corea.  Strictly  speaking,  Confucianism  is  a 
system  of  morals  and  politics,  but  not  a re- 
ligion. It  has  no  element  of  progress  in  it, 
but  is  a mode  of  thought  and  practice  calcu- 
lated to  stereotype  the  human  intellect  and 
petrify  a civilization  into  unvarying  routine. 
It  is  largely  responsible  for  the  inertia  and 
arrested  development  of  China  and  for  the 
liermit-like  seclusion  and  foolish  pride  of 
Corea.  It  will  be,  as  it  always  has  been,  the 
unyielding  foe  of  Christianity.  It  is  pagan 
agnosticism,  with  no  root  of  progress  in  it. 
Its  force  is  all  conservative.  Its  tenets  are 
summed  up  in  the  doctrine  of  “ the  five  re- 
lations”— of  king  and  subject,  of  parent  and 
child,  of  husband  and  wife,  of  the  elder 
brother  and  younger  brother,  and  between 
friends.  The  relation  expressed,  the  duty 
follows.  In  spite  of  its  excellences,  it  is 
atheistic.  It  makes  no  provision  for  the 
greatest  of  all  relations — of  man  to  God. 
The  chief  enemies  of  truth,  progress  and 
spiritual  religion  in  Corea  have  been,  and 
for  generations  to  come  will  be,  Confucian- 


RELIGION. 


167 


ists.  Christianity,  that  levels  the  pride  of 
man,  must  by  its  nature  arouse  the  wrath  of 
the  literati. 

At  the  expense  of  the  State  sacrifices  of 
pigs,  sheep  and  goats  are  made  by  the  magis- 
trates at  particular  seasons.  The  ceremonies 
are  very  similar  to  those  practiced  by  the 
Chinese  in  honor  of  the  spirits  of  earth  and 
heaven. 

Older  than  the  Confucian  cult,  yet  close- 
ly connected  with  it,  is  the  worship  of  ances- 
tors. The  veneration  of  forefathers,  the  burn- 
ing of  incense  and  doing  of  homage  to  their 
tablets  are  as  universal  in  Corea  as  in  China. 
The  system  is  so  deeply  implanted  that  noth- 
ing but  a total  change  in  the  Corean  mind 
and  heart  can  extirpate  it.  Piety  and  wor- 
ship become  one  in  theory  and  practice.  It 
is  a great  tree,  the  roots  of  which  strike  into 
the  soil  of  primeval  history,  while  its  dense 
outgrowth  of  superstitions  overshadows  every 
household.  Against  it  the  axe  of  Chris- 
tianity is  to  be  laid  with  many  a sturdy 
stroke  before  it  disappears.  To  preserve  the 
spirit  and  letter  of  the  fifth  commandment, 
with  its  gracious  promise — the  salt  of  national 


168 


COREA. 


preservation,  as  shown  in  China’s  long  con- 
tinuance— is  the  problem  of  the  missionary 
of  Jesus  in  Corea. 

Booldo  or  Buddhism  first  entered  Corea  in 
the  fourth  century,  probably  by  way  of 
Thibet  and  Mongolia,  and  again  directly 
from  China  in  the  sixth  century.  Its  golden 
days  were  during  the  dynasty  of  Ko-rai 
(960—1392  a.  d.).  Having  overspread  the 
peninsula,  and  being  patronized  at  court,  it 
was  made  the  state  religion.  The  Buddhist 
priesthood  was  during  this  period  very  nu- 
merous, influential  and  learned ; the  monas- 
teries were  numerous  and  costly  and  the 
temples  grand  and  magnificent.  Education 
and  the  arts  were  fostered,  and  the  status  of 
Corean  civilization  was  higher  than  at  the 
present  time. 

Since  the  accession  of  the  house  of  Ni, 
which  now  rules  the  kingdom,  Buddhism 
has  been  disestablished,  the  faith  has  sunk 
into  decay,  the  priests  into  ignorance  and 
most  of  the  finer  temples  into  ruin. 

A village  shrine  visited  by  an  English 
gentleman  last  year  is  described  as  standing 
in  a grove  of  firs.  It  was  a hut  six  feet 


RELIGION. 


169 


square,  the  sides  of  which  were  formed  of 
coarse  wicker  and  straw,  while  a thick  mat, 
suspended  by  a rope,  formed  the  door.  The 
roof  was  tiled.  A rough  stone  image  about 
three  feet  high,  of  a Buddhist  saint,  in  the 
usual  sitting  posture,  with  a square  stone  in 
front  containing  a few  copper  coins,  were  all 
that  the  “temple”  contained.  While,  how- 
ever, Buddhism  is  in  low  estate  in  and  near 
the  capital,  it  flourishes  in  greater  strength 
in  some  of  the  provinces.  Certain  neighbor- 
hoods are  strongly  Buddhist,  and  there  the 
monastic  establishments  and  temples  are  old 
and  rich,  the  shaven  pates  more  numerous 
and  the  revenues  from  temple-lands  yield 
handsomely.  Some  of  the  most  famous 
shrines,  visited  annually  by  crowds  of  pil- 
grims, are  in  the  mountains. 

Idols  are  of  three  grades — bronze,  stone 
and  wood.  Some  of  these  are  highly  artistic 
in  workmanship.  Many  of  the  images  of 
Buddha  and  his  disciples  which  are  now 
found  in  Japanese  temples  came  originally 
from  Corea,  which  to  the  priests  in  the  Sun- 
rise Land  was  long  the  “ Treasure-Land  of 
the  West.” 


170 


COREA. 


Buddhism,  being  a humane  system  of 
morals  and  of  aspirations  to  noble  character, 
stimulates  men  to  good  works  for  the  sake  of 
their  own  salvation  and  to  the  advantage  of 
their  fellows.  Hence  it  is  a civilizer,  and  in 
its  first  energy  and  freshness  it  fills  a coun- 
try with  benefits,  nourishes  art,  diffuses  edu- 
cation, makes  roads,  establishes  resting-places, 
promotes  beneficence  and  multiplies  comforts 
in  a thousand  forms.  Buddhism  did  much 
for  Corea — far  more,  we  think,  than  Confu- 
cianism, which  soon  becomes  intolerant,  big- 
oted, hidebound  and  narrow,  paralyzing  all 
progress.  The  high-water  mark  of  Corean 
civilization  was  reached  under  Buddhism. 

Yet,  after  all  that  may  be  said  in  its  favor, 
Buddhism  is  an  atheistic  system,  and,  like  all 
such  cults,  becomes  the  prey  of  parasitic  su- 
perstitions which  smother  its  vitality.  Its 
force  in  Corea  seems  to  be  wellnigh  spent. 

The  mind  of  the  Corean  peasant  resembles 
a peat-bog  in  its  mixture  of  decay.  The 
faiths  which  influence  him  once  had  each  a 
distinctive  life  and  form.  Their  frame  and 
substance  now  gone,  he  propitiates  all  gods 
and  professes  all  superstitions.  Yet  doubt- 


RELIGION. 


171 


less  he  has  the  soul  and  heart  of  a man,  and 
yearns  for  a religion  which  can  satisfy  both. 
How  eagerly  he  grasped  at  that  form  of 
Christianity  first  presented  to  him  our  pages 
following  will  show.  How  earnestly  he  will 
receive  the  purer  faith  of  Christ  the  future 
is  yet  to  reveal. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  EUROPEAN  INFLUENCES 
1777  TO  1866. 

FROM  the  inside  view  given  by  Hamel  the 
elements  entering  the  politics  of  the  pe- 
ninsula were  few  and  simple.  “ Courtesy  to 
the  East,  respect  to  the  West,  tribute  to  both, 
and  no  foreigners  wanted  in  the  kingdom,” 
seemed  to  sum  up  the  national  policy. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury there  arose  two  parties  among  the  nobles, 
and,  though  the  occasion  of  their  origin  ap- 
pears to  have  been  a mere  question  of  liter- 
ary pedantry,  they  have  since  represented — 
roughly  indeed — the  old  and  the  new,  or 
conservative  and  progressive,  tendencies. 
Later  on,  the  two  parties  split  up  into  four 
factions,  and,  though  “ platforms  ” varied, 
the  race  for  “ spoils  ” has  never  slackened. 
Plots,  assassinations,  poisonings,  blood-feuds, 
hereditary  quarrels  and  vendettas  have  been, 

172 


EUROPEAN  INFLUENCES. 


173 


and  are  still,  among  tlie  results  of  the  bitter 
partisan  rivalry  which  at  first  had  no  out- 
look upon  things  beyond  Corea. 

The  motives,  methods  and  details  of  poli- 
ticians in  the  Hermit  Nation  are  too  obscure 
for  Westerners  to  sympathize  with  or  com- 
prehend ; but  during  the  eighteenth  century 
a new,  and  by  us  a better  understood,  force 
entered  to  disturb  old  lines  of  battle  at  the 
court  in  Seoul.  That  disturbing  element 
was  Christianity  in  its  Roman  form.  Fur- 
ther, during  the  decade  ending  with  1884  the 
pressure  from  New  Japan,  the  jealousy  of 
China,  the  dangers  from  France  and  Russia 
and  the  necessity  of  signing  the  American 
and  other  treaties,  have  altered  the  motives 
and  objects,  besides  widening  the  horizons, 
of  parties  in  “ Great  Cho-sen.” 

The  picture  of  the  history  of  Christianity 
in  Corea,  at  which  we  shall  now  glance,  is 
Rembrandt-like  in  depth  of  shadow  and  in- 
tensity of  light.  Triumph  and  disaster,  per- 
secution and  fresh  successes,  brutal  torture 
and  bloody  death  borne  with  unquailing  for- 
titude, mark  in  thrilling  alternation  the 
progress  of  the  Church.  Strange  to  say,  the 


174 


COREA. 


mighty  growth  began  from  a seemingly 
chance-fallen  seed. 

Following  out  a common  custom  among 
the  literary  men,  a number  of  students  gath- 
ered in  a secluded  temple  in  the  winter  of 
1777  to  spend  a week  or  more  in  the  reading, 
criticism  and  discussion  of  the  Chinese  clas- 
sics. Their  leader  was  one  Professor  Kwem, 
a noted  Confucian. 

Entirely  novel  food  for  thought  was  intro- 
duced to  the  coterie  by  one  young  man  who 
had  just  returned  from  a visit  to  Peking  in 
the  embassy.  He  brought  original  writings 
and  translations  into  Chinese  of  books  on 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion  which  had  been 
written  by  the  Jesuit  fathers  then  in  favor 
with  the  famous  Manchiu  emperor  Keen- 
lung,  at  the  capital  of  China.  Examining 
these  books,  the  eager  students  were  both 
surprised  and  delighted  with  their  contents. 

The  leader,  with  several  of  the  party,  on 
returning  to  their  homes  began  at  once  to 
practice  what  they  had  learned.  A son  of 
the  envoy  to  Peking  in  1783  was  converted 
and  baptized  in  the  cathedral,  and  brought 
back  new  books,  images,  crosses,  medals  and 


EUROPEAN  INFLUENCES. 


175 


pictures.  A band  of  Roman  Catholic  Chris- 
tians formed  in  Seoul,  who  fasted,  prayed 
and  zealously  made  new  converts. 

From  first  to  last,  the  native  literati  were 
the  bitter  opponents  of  so  leveling  a creed, 
and  soon  the  opposition  on  paper  changed 
to  legal  persecution.  The  first  victim  was 
Thomas  Kim,  who,  on  ceasing  to  be  a pagan, 
had  bravely  burned  his  ancestral  tablets,  the 
special  symbols  of  national  superstition  and 
of  idolatry  in  Chinese  Asia.  Tortured  and 
sent  into  exile,  he  soon  after  died.  A num- 
ber of  others  felt  the  iron  hand  of  the  law, 
and  many  recanted.  The  persecutions  ceased 
after  a time,  but  the  Nai-po,  a peninsular 
district  of  country  south-west  of  Seoul,  still 
contained  many  believers.  As  it  had  been 
the  nursery,  so  it  became  the  garden,  of  the 
Church. 

To  cement  their  union,  the  Christians,  in 
ignorance  and  good  faith,  formed  a hierarchy 
after  the  model  of  the  Roman  Church  as  set 
forth  in  the  papal  books.  This  continued  in 
force  two  years,  until  light  and  further  ex- 
planation were  received  from  Peking. 

Further  progress  in  faith  and  practice,  but 


176 


COREA. 


especially  the  burning  of  ancestral  tablets, 
brought  the  Christians  into  collision  with  the 
tribunals,  and  in  1791,  at  the  trial  of  two 
believers,  the  first  full,  clear  and  public  ex- 
position of  the  new  doctrines  was  made. 
Paul  and  Jacques  Kim,  refusing  to  recant, 
suffered  decapitation,  and  died  calling  on  the 
names  of  Jesus  and  Mary.  Other  martyrs 
were  beaten,  tortured  or  exiled  to  Quelpaert 
Island,  but  the  seed  of  the  Church  only 
spread  farther  and  took  deeper  root.  In  one 
decade  after  the  baptism  of  the  first  Corean 
convert  ten  thousand  natives  of  Cho-sen 
called  themselves  Christians. 

In  1794  a Chinese  Jesuit  priest  from  Pe- 
king, disguised  as  a noble  widower  in  mourn- 
ing, passed  the  barriers  at  the  Yalu  Biver, 
and,  reaching  the  capital,  carried  on  active 
missionary  labors.  In  1797,  Captain  Brough- 
ton, with  the  British  war-ship  Providence 
of  sixteen  guns,  visited  the  east  coast  and 
gave  his  name  to  Broughton’s  Bay.  A native 
Christian  who  went  on  board  the  vessel  while 
at  Fusan  was  arrested  on  suspicion  of  invi- 
ting the  “ Nam-ban,”  or  “ Southern  barbar- 
ians,” to  invade  Corea.  All  that  was  proved 


EUROPEAN  INFLUENCES. 


177 


against  him  was  his  remark  that  “ one  such 
ship  could  sink  a hundred  Corean  vessels  of 
war.”  A letter  of  the  Chinese  priest,  in 
which  he  recommended  that  the  king  of  Por- 
tugal should  make  a treaty  and  send  scien- 
tific men  and  teachers  to  Corea,  was  seized 
and  deciphered.  This  discovery  of  a sup- 
posed plot  caused  intense  excitement  at  court. 
Coming  out  from  his  hiding-place  to  avoid 
the  shedding  of  innocent  blood,  the  brave 
Chinaman  was  beheaded  May  31,  1801. 

The  government  now  suspected  a general 
conspiracy  of  the  Christians  to  betray  the 
kingdom  into  the  hands  of  foreigners,  for  in 
a letter  to  the  bishop  of  Peking  a prominent 
convert  had  proposed  an  appeal  for  liberty 
of  conscience  to  the  nations  of  Europe,  and 
that  an  army  of  sixty  thousand  soldiers  be 
sent  to  conquer  Corea.1 

From  this  time  forth  the  Christians  were 
branded  as  “ brigands,”  “ evil  beasts,”  “ trai- 
tors ” and  “ foreigner-Coreans.”  To  this  day 
Christianity  and  treason  are  synonyms  to 
the  average  official  mind. 

The  abject  apologies  of  the  king  to  “ the 

' Dallet,  Histoire  de  I’Eylise  de  Coree,  vol.  i.  p.  205. 

12 


178 


COREA. 


Great  Khan  ” for  the  execution  of  a Chinese 
subject  were  accepted  only  after  a heavy 
exaction  of  tribute  in  Corean  silver.  A fresh 
edict  against  “ the  evil  sect  ” was  issued  early 
in  1802,  which  advertised  it  to  every  part  of 
the  kingdom. 

Yet  the  Church,  bereaved  of  its  teachers, 
had  little  growth  until  the  winter  of  1835, 
when  the  soil  of  Corea  was  trodden  by  the 
French  priest  Maubant,  who,  with  five  na- 
tives, crossed  on  the  ice  of  the  Yalu.  Bishop 
Imbert  entered  later,  within  a year,  and  by 
1839  nine  thousand  believers  in  Christ,  the 
Pope  and  the  Virgin  were  enrolled  under 
the  banner  of  Rome.  Then,  with  the  aid  of 
treachery,  the  dogs  of  the  law  scented  out 
their  prey : to  save  the  lives  of  their  converts 
these  foreigners  nobly  surrendered  themselves 
to  the  authorities. 

After  horrible  tortures  they  were  beheaded 
September  21,  1839.  One  hundred  and 
thirty  victims — seventy  by  decapitation  and 
sixty  by  torture — suffered  death  about  the 
same  time.  For  six  years  the  Christians 
were  without  a pastor. 

Though  the  sentinels  on  the  western  fron- 


EUROPEAN  INFLUENCES. 


179 


tier  were  doubled,  and  though  an  unsuccess- 
ful attempt  had  been  made  in  the  north  to 
force  an  entrance  across  the  Tumen  River, 
yet  Andrew  Kim,  a Corean  educated  at  the 
Portuguese  seminary  at  Macao  in  China,  en- 
tered at  Ai-chiu  in  April,  1845.  Reaching 
his  home  in  the  south,  he  manned  an  un- 
decked boat  with  eleven  men  from  the  fields, 
most  of  them  utterly  unused  to  the  sea,  and 
with  only  a compass  this  Corean  Greatheart 
put  out  into  the  Yellow  Sea,  and  after  weeks 
of  tempestuous  weather  reached  Shanghai. 
There  he  was  ordained  a priest,  and  return- 
ing landed  October  12th  on  the  shores  of 
Chulla-do  with  two  French  missionaries. 

Again  attempting,  off  the  province  of 
Whanghai,  to  introduce  new  reinforcements 
from  the  Roman  Propaganda,  he  was  seized 
and  thrown  into  prison.  There  he  was  em- 
ployed in  copying,  translating  and  coloring 
a map  of  the  world  and  composing  a manual 
of  geography  for  the  court.  At  the  same 
time  the  French  men-of-war,  La  Gloire  and 
La  Victorieuse,  despatched  by  Louis  Philippe 
to  inquire  into  the  murder  of  Bishop  Imbert 
in  1839,  were  vainly  striving  to  find  the 


180 


COREA. 


mouth  of  the  Han  River,  to  reach  the  capital 
and  to  point  their  guns  at  the  king’s  castle. 
They  failed,  and  Andrew  Kim  was  “ put  to 
death  for  communicating  with  the  Western 
barbarians,”  September  16th.  A few  weeks 
after  these  same  French  ships  were  totally 
wrecked  on  islands  off  Chulla-do,  their  crews 
being  kindly  treated. 

Fresh  bands  of  undaunted  missionaries, 
eager  for  the  ruby  crown,  entered  the  penin- 
sula, and  active  propagation  by  preaching 
and  the  printing-press  began.  The  faith  was 
introduced  to  Quelpaert  Island  by  a native 
who  had  been  shipwrecked,  carried  to  Hong- 
Kong  and  taught  by  a Corean  student  at 
Macao.  The  native  Christians  in  1850  num- 
bered eleven  thousand,  and  in  1857  nearly 
seventeen  thousand. 

About  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the 
Japanese  ports  to  foreign  commerce  cholera, 
imported  from  Japan  (and,  as  the  Japanese 
say,  from  America),  swept  off  about  a quar- 
ter of  a million  lives  in  Corea. 

The  march  of  events  from  the  year  1860 
filled  the  Corean  government  with  constant 
alarms.  Peking  was  sacked  by  the  allied 


E UR  OPE  A N INFL  UENCES. 


181 


armies  of  France  and  Great  Britain,  and 
Chinese  military  prestige  destroyed.  By  the 
treaty  of  Count  Ignatieff,  the  Czar  added  to 
his  dominions  “ the  maritime  provinces,”  now 
a part  of  Siberia,  and  the  boundaries  of 
Russia  touched  Corea.  The  Cossack  looked 
across  the  Tumen,  and  the  Greek  church- 
spire  glittered  beyond,  where  the  Corean 
Christian  refugee  found  a home.  New  Ja- 
pan, soon  to  be  almost  a Christian  nation 
and  a next-door  neighbor,  was  being  rapidly 
Westernized.  The  Corean  court  ordered  new 
river-forts  to  be  built,  castles  to  be  put  in 
repair  and  war  preparations  for  defence  to  be 
vigorously  made.  Meanwhile,  fresh  mission- 
ary invasions  and  successes  brought  up  the 
forces  of  the  Christian  army  to  twenty  thou- 
sand souls  led  by  twelve  foreigners. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


THE  EVER-MEMORABLE  YEAR  OF  1866. 


HE  direct  succession  of  the  royal  line  of 


Cho-sen,  founded  by  Ni  Taijo  in  1392, 
came  to  an  end  in  1864,  and  a lad  twelve 
years  old  (the  present  king)  was  nominated 
heir  by  Queen  Clio.  His  father,  Ni  Kung, 
was  made  regent,  or  Tai-wen  Kun,  of  the 
kingdom.  This  powerful  and  ambitious  man 
was  a bitter  hater  of  all  foreigners  and  Chris- 
tians and  of  change  or  progress  of  any  sort. 
He  may  be  described  as  a Confucianist  fire- 
eater.  To  his  already  flaming  hatred  fresh 
fuel  was  soon  added  by  American,  British 
and  German  filibusters  and  grave-robbers, 
and  by  Russian,  French  and  American  ex- 
peditions of  trade,  treaty  or  vengeance. 

In  January,  1866,  a Russian  war- vessel 
appeared  in  Broughton’s  Bay  and  demanded 
from  the  government  the  right  of  commerce, 
threatening  also  the  violation  of  the  frontier 


182 


THE  EVER-MEMORABLE  YEAR. 


183 


by  troops  to  enforce  the  demand.  The  re- 
gent replied  by  letter,  offering  to  refer  for 
permission  to  “ the  Great  Khan  ” of  China. 
Meanwhile,  during  the  intense  excitement  at 
Seoul,  three  Christian  nobles,  headed  by 
Thomas  Kim,  addressed  to  the  regent  a letter 
suggesting  that  an  anti -Russian  alliance  be 
formed  by  inviting  the  aid  of  France  and 
Great  Britain  in  favor  of  Corea.  The  regent 
invited  the  petitioners  to  a council  in  Seoul. 

A false  report  from  Peking  about  this  time 
stated  that  the  Chinese  were  officially  execu- 
ting all  Christians  found  in  the  Middle  King- 
dom. The  anti-Christian  party  at  the  capital 
of  Corea  now  grew  bolder  and  demanded 
that  the  old  edicts  of  persecution  be  again 
put  in  force.  As  the  Russian  vessel  had 
gone  away  and  the  French  seemed  passive, 
the  cry  now  broke  out  afresh,  “ Death  to  all 
Christians ! death  to  the  Western  barbar- 
ians!” Under  pressure,  the  regent  repub- 
lished the  bloody  edicts  and  signed  the  death- 
warrants  of  the  foreign  priests.  The  legal 
bloodhounds  took  the  track  late  in  February. 
Within  thirty  days  nine  French  priests  were 
seized,  tried  and  tortured.  Condemned  as 


184 


COREA. 


outlaws,  spies  and  invaders,  their  heads  were 
struck  off  before  a vast  crowd  of  spectators 
on  the  sand  of  the  river-flats.  Scores  of 
natives  were  beheaded,  hundreds  were  thrown 
in  prison  and  the  infernal  engines  of  torture 
were  plied  to  their  full  power,  while  thou- 
sands were  exiled  or  otherwise  punished. 
On  Chinese  smugglers  or  in  open  boats  the 
other  three  foreigners  escaped  to  China. 

The  French  admiral  Roze  and  envoy  Bel- 
lonet  were  duly  informed,  and  an  expedition 
of  vengeance  was  at  once  planned  for  “ the 
conquest  of  Corea.” 

A short  time  after  these  tragic  events 
fresh  visitors  from  the  outside  world  iuvol- 
untarily  tasted  the  sweets  of  Corean  hospi- 
tality, experiencing  kindness  and  seeing  the 
better  side  of  a really  gentle  and  peaceable 
people.  In  June,  1866,  the  American 
schooner  Surprise  was  wrecked  off  the  coast 
of  Whanghai  (Yellow  Sea)  province. 
From  the  moment  of  their  landing  extreme 
kindness  attended  them.  Food,  clothing  and 
tobacco  were  liberally  furnished,  and  by 
orders  from  the  regent  they  were  escorted  on 
horseback  to  the  frontier,  and  past  the  Bor- 


THE  ever-memorable  year. 


185 


der-Gate.  Along  the  way  they  were  honored 
by  the  magistrates  and  treated  with  consid- 
eration, the  Coreans  everywhere  showing 
their  true  nature  and  their  feeling  toward 
peaceable  strangers  cast  upon  their  shores. 
Reaching  the  United  States  consul  at  Niu- 
chwang  in  Manchurian  China,  Captain 
McCaslin,  crew  and  Chinese  cook  bore  pleas- 
ant memories  of  a misrepresented  people. 

The  “ Hermit  Nation  ” gave  a different 
reception  to  a different  class  of  men  during 
August  of  this  same  eventful  year.  The 
General  Sherman,  a schooner  owned  by  an 
American,  but  chartered  by  a British  trader, 
sailed  from  Chefu,  China,  on  a professed 
“experimental  voyage  of  trade  and  discov- 
ery,” though  it  was  suspected  of  plunder  and 
piracy.  The  vessel  was  heavily  armed  both 
with  rifles  and  artillery.  The  popular  belief 
among  foreigners  at  the  Chinese  ports  was 
that  the  Corean  royal  sepulchres  near  Ping- 
an  were  but  slightly  guarded  and  contained 
coffins  made  of  gold.  Ping-an  City,  whither 
the  vessel  sailed,  was  the  capital  of  Ko-rai 
and  the  seat  of  the  royal  mausoleums  during 
the  early  and  Middle  Ages. 


186 


COREA. 


The  complement  of  this  disguised  war- 
vessel  consisted  of  three  Americans,  one  En- 
glishman, a Scotch  clergyman,  agent  of  the 
Bihle  Society  of  Scotland,  who  went  inno- 
cently to  learn  the  Corean  language,  and 
nineteen  Malay  or  Chinese  sailors.  They 
were  to  enter  the  most  turbulent  portion  of 
an  unknown  country,  among  an  excited 
people  who  knew  no  difference  at  sight  be- 
tween Frenchmen  and  other  foreigners,  and 
who  were  incensed  at  the  frequent  visitations 
of  Chinese  and  foreign  pirates. 

Nothing  is  certainly  known  from  outside 
sources  of  the  behavior  or  final  fate  of  the 
Sherman’s  crew,  except  that  they  entered  the 
Ta-tong  River  and  none  ever  came  back. 
They  were  slain  to  the  last  man,  and  their 
vessel  was  burned. 

In  August  the  Jewish  merchant,  Ernest 
Oppert,  and  author  of  A Forbidden  Land , 
ascended  the  Han  River  in  the  steamer  Em- 
peror, meeting  some  native  Christians,  who 
wrote  him  a letter  in  Latin.  He  held  inter- 
views with  local  magistrates  and  secured 
useful  charts  of  the  river. 

Equipped  with  these  charts,  and  with  the 


THE  EVER-MEMORABLE  YEAR. 


187 


French  bishop  as  pilot-interpreter,  the  French 
war-vessels  Deroulede  and  Tardif  ascended 
the  river  to  the  capital.  On  the  25th  of 
September  the  flag  of  France  floated  before 
the  walls  of  Seoul,  frightening  the  inhabit- 
ants and  causing  a cessation  of  all  business. 
On  their  return  to  the  anchorage  at  Boisee 
Island  the  bislnyp  heard  of  the  burning  of 
the  General  Sherman. 

The  French  squadron  which  sailed  from 
Chefu  October  11th  consisted  of  seven  vessels 
with  their  crews,  and  an  extra  military  de- 
tachment of  six  hundred  men.  On  the  16th 
they  attacked  Kang-wa  in  force,  and  easily 
captured  the  city  and  citadel. 

On  the  26tli  a landing-party  of  marines, 
after  a temporary  success  at  Tong-chin,  re- 
tired to  the  ships,  from  which  the  Coreans 
were  shelled  with  safety.  On  the  27th  a 
picnic-party  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  men 
without  cannon  were  despatched  to  capture 
a fortified  monastery  on  Kang-wa  Island, 
but  were  repulsed  with  heavy  loss  by  the 
garrison  of  tiger-hunters  and  clerical  mili- 
tia of  Buddhist  priests.  The  next  morning 
Admiral  Roze  gave  orders  to  embark.  The 


188 


COREA. 


sacked  city  of  Kang-wa  was  set  on  fire  and 
left  in  ashes,  and  the  French  fleet  steamed 
away. 

In  Paris  these  hasty  acts  of  the  French 
agents  in  China  were  not  approved,  and, 
having  the  Germans  at  their  gates,  the 
French  did  nothing  further  in  the  far  East. 
Their  repulse  in  Corea  probably  hastened 
the  massacre  at  Tientsin. 

At  Seoul,  after  rousing  the  whole  country 
to  a fever-heat  of  war-preparation,  it  was 
determined  to  extirpate  Christianity.  Wom- 
en, children  and  nobles  were  put  to  death 
and  brother  betrayed  brother.  Two  men 
were  carried  out  into  the  river,  and  over  the 
place  at  which  the  French  ships  had  an- 
chored were  beheaded.  Their  blood  was 
allowed  to  spout  from  their  bodies  into  the 
water,  “ to  wash  away  the  defilement  of  the 
foreign  invasion.”  Corea  now  felt  able  to 
defy  the  world,  and  soon  in  her  boastful 
bluster  challenged  Japan  to  do  her  worst. 

Peacefully  the  young  king  was  married  in 
the  autumn,  and  the  Chinese  ambassador,  as 
usual,  visited  the  Corean  capital  to  bear  the  fe- 
licitations of  the  Great  Khan  to  his  vassal. 


THE  EVER-MEMORABLE  YEAR.  189 

Had  the  regent,  who,  in  native  phrase, 
possessed  “ a heart  of  stone  and  bowels  of 
iron,”  lacked  for  a crowning  cause  of  hatred 
to  the  foreigner,  that  element  was  now  to  be 
supplied.  A refugee  French  priest  was  to  pi- 
lot a German  grave-robber,  whose  capitalist 
was  an  American,  in  an  attemj^t  to  rifle  the 
tomb  of  the  regent’s  ancestors,  with  the  design 
of  holding  the  ghastly  relics  to  ransom. 

Oppert,  a German  Israelite,  left  Shanghai 
April  30,  1867,  with  the  steamer  China  and 
tender  Greta,  in  company  with  an  American 
named  Jenkins  and  the  French  Roman 
Catholic  priest  Feron.  His  force  consisted 
of  eight  Europeans,  twenty  Malays  and  about 
one  hundred  Chinese,  mainly  laborers,  who 
were  to  form  the  military  force.  At  Naga- 
saki, Japan,  they  bought  cases  of  muskets, 
and  arrived  in  Prince  Jerome  Gulf  on  the 
night  of  Friday,  May  8th.  Early  on  Sunday 
morning  the  armed  crowd  moved  in  the  ten- 
der and  two  small  boats  in  tow  up  the  river 
to  a point  forty  miles  from  the  sea.  They 
then  marched  inland  to  the  tomb.  This  was 
of  stone  masonry,  as  described  by  Hamel, 
and  proof  against  coal-shovels. 


190 


COREA. 


Somewhat  behind  their  calculations  as  to 
time,  and  being  unsupplied  with  crowbars  or 
blasting-powder,  and  soon  surrounded  by 
thousands  of  curious  and  enraged  people,  the 
baffled  men  were  compelled  to  return  to  their 
boats.  They  were  unable  to  make  a second 
attempt,  as  the  river  was  navigable  only  once 
a year,  at  this  particular  season. 

Landing  at  Kang-wa  Island  for  purposes 
unknown,  the  party  was  fired  upon.  Two 
of  the  number  were  killed,  and  one  man, 
described  by  Oppert  as  “ the  only  disreputa- 
ble character  in  the  party,”  was  wounded. 
The  invaders  soon  left  the  coast.1 

These  shameful  circumstances  served  but 
to  intensify  the  rage  of  the  regent  and  the 
popular  hatred  of  foreigners. 

1 See  the  whole  story  of  Oppert’s  exploits  in  the  U.  S.  Dip. 
Correspondence  for  1868 ; in  A Forbidden  Land  : Voyages  to  the 
Corea,  by  Ernest  Oppert,  New  York,  1880;  and  in  “Oppert’s 
Corean  Outrage”  in  The  Nation,  April  7 and  April  21,  1880. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


THE  AMERICANS  OPEN  COREA  {1867-82). 


N hearing  of  the  massacre  of  the  General 


Sherman’s  crew,  and  desirous  of  inquir- 
ing into  a national  policy  which  showed 
kindness  to  one  set  of  men  and  ordered  death 
to  another,  Rear-Admiral  Henry  Bell,  of 
the  United  States  Navy,  despatched  a vessel 
from  our  Asiatic  squadron  to  visit  Corea. 
Commander  (now  Rear-Admiral)  R.  W. 
Sliufeldt,  in  the  war-steamer  Wachusett, 
reached  the  coast  of  Whanghai  (Yellow  Sea) 
province  in  January,  1867.  A friendly 
letter,  thanking  the  king  and  government 
for  kindly  treatment  of  Captain  McCaslin 
and  his  crew,  and  inquiring  into  the  causes 
of  the  massacre  of  the  General  Sherman’s 
men,  was  despatched  to  the  prefect  of  the 
nearest  large  city  by  the  American  officer. 

The  answer  came  back  in  five  days,  but 
no  satisfaction  was  obtained.  Unable  to  re- 


191 


192 


COREA. 


main  longer  on  account  of  stress  of  weather, 
the  Wachusett  returned  to  China. 

A detailed  reply  to  Commander  Shufeldt’s 
letter,  couched  in  friendly  terms,  explained 
fully  the  circumstances  of  the  massacre  in 
the  Ta-tong  River.  According  to  this,  the 
Sherman’s  crew  grossly  insulted  the  messen- 
gers of  the  magistrate  sent  to  inquire  into 
their  business  in  entering  the  river.  Be- 
coming violent,  they  insisted  on  going  up  to 
Ping-an  City,  seized  the  adjutant-general’s 
person  and  ship,  and  made  him  prisoner. 
The  natives  attempted  to  rescue  their  magis- 
trate, and  several  tens  of  them  were  killed 
by  the  foreigners’  artillery ; but  finally,  by 
overwhelming  numbers  and  with  the  aid  of 
fire-rafts,  which  set  the  schooner  ablaze  and 
blew  up  her  powder-magazine,  the  Coreans 
were  rid  of  their  obnoxious  foe  and  the  for- 
eigners all  killed.  The  letter  declared  that 
none  but  Englishmen  and  Frenchmen,  be- 
sides the  crew,  were  known  to  be  on  board, 
and  expressed  surprise  that  an  American 
vessel  should  inquire  about  them,  declaring 
the  whole  affair  to  be  “ but  a particle  of  au- 
tumn dust.” 


THE  AMERICANS  OPEN  COREA. 


193 


It  is  matter  for  deep  regret  that  this  letter 
did  not  reach  Commander  Shufeldt  until 
several  years  afterward.  Forwarded  through 
the  Chinese  Foreign  Office  and  the  American 
legation  at  Peking,  it  reached  the  State  De- 
partment at  Washington  in  due  course,  but 
to  a new  administration,  and  there  lay  pig- 
eon-holed and  forgotten.  Even  when  the 
diplomatic  and  naval  expedition  was  des- 
patched to  Corea  in  1871  under  General 
Grant’s  administration,  nothing  was  known 
or  suspected  of  the  existence  of  this  friendly 
letter.  Had  it  been  discovered  in  time,  the 
unfortunate  failure  of  the  mission  and  the 
“ little  war  ” of  1871  might  have  been  spared 
or  had  a different  ending.  The  missive  was 
unearthed  by  the  naval  officer  to  whom  it 
was  addressed  previous  to  starting  on  his 
semi-diplomatic  mission  round  the  world  in 
the  Ticonderoga  in  1879-80. 

Reports,  still  in  circulation,  that  two  of 
the  Sherman’s  crew  were  alive  and  in  prison 
in  Corea,  prompted  Admiral  Rowan  to  send 
the  war-steamer  Shenandoah  to  make  fur- 
ther inquiry.  Commander  Febiger  therefore 
proceeded  to  the  Ta-tong  River,  in  May, 

13 


J94 


COREA. 


1867,  but  came  away  with  no  other  results 
than  a chart  of  Ping-an  Inlet  and  the  Co- 
rean  version  of  the  affair,  substantially  the 
same  as  now  revealed  in  the  letter  to  Com- 
mander Shufeldt. 

Nevertheless,  our  State  Department  at 
Washington  was  kept  informed  of  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  in  the  Far  East  and  of  the 
opinions  of  American  citizens  in  the  ports 
adjacent  to  the  sealed  peninsula.  The  me- 
morials of  Consul-general  George  F.  Seward, 
Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams  and  American  mer- 
chants in  China  prompted  President  Grant 
and  his  Cabinet  to  attempt  the  opening  of 
the  Hermit  Kingdom.  In  the  spring  of 
1871  the  Hon.  A.  A.  Low  and  the  veteran 
Rear-Admiral  John  Rodgers  were  ordered 
to  proceed  with  the  Asiatic  squadron  to  Co- 
rean  waters.  The  minister  was  instructed  to 
secure  a treaty  for  the  protection  of  Ameri- 
can seamen  shipwrecked  on  Corean  shores, 
and,  if  possible,  one  of  commerce.  He  was 
also  to  inquire  into  the  murder  of  the  crew 
of  the  General  Sherman. 

Admiral  Rodgers’s  fleet,  consisting  of  the 
flag-ship  Colorado,  the  corvettes  Alaska  and 


THE  AMERICANS  OPEN  COREA. 


195 


Benicia,  with  the  gunboats  Monocacv  and 
Palos,  sailed  from  Nagasaki  May  16th,  and 
anchored  off  Roze  Island  on  the  23d.  After 
several  days’  survey-work  the  fleet  moved 
up  to  Boisee  Island.  The  fogs  clearing  away 
revealed  to  the  delighted  eyes  of  officers  and 
men  the  lovely  scenery  of  late  spring-time 
in  Corea. 

On  the  30th  a delegation  of  native  official 
persons,  who  had  come  to  inquire  into  the 
object  of  the  visit,  was  received  on  the  deck 
of  the  Colorado — not  by  the  minister  or  ad- 
miral, but  by  Mr.  Drew,  the  secretary.  This 
was  because  they  were  not  of  the  first,  but 
of  the  third,  rank.  Mr.  Drew  informed 
them  that  further  soundings  up  the  river 
would  be  taken. 

The  Coreans,  on  their  side,  not  being  de- 
sirous of  making  any  treaty,  and  having  ex- 
plained fully,  as  they  thought,  the  massacre 
of  the  General  Sherman’s  crew,  and  know- 
ing that  they  treated  hospitably  all  American 
sailors  honestly  shipwrecked  on  their  shores, 
could  not  understand  why  the  armed  Ameri- 
can fleet  should  enter  their  waters  with 
“ friendly  ” intentions.  They  therefore  pre- 


196 


COREA. 


pared  to  give  the  foreigners  a warm  welcome 
should  they  invade  the  country  by  ascending 
the  river  to  menace  the  capital.  Summon- 
ing their  available  military,  they  strongly 
garrisoned  the  forts  along  the  river,  where 
the  heaviest  artillery  in  the  kingdom  was 
mounted.  This  consisted  of  a few  French 
pieces,  of  which  thirty-pounders  were  the 
largest. 

The  great  majority  of  their  ordnance  con- 
sisted of  breech-loading  brass  pieces  of  but 
one  inch  or  an  inch  and  a half  bore.  These 
were  modeled  on  antique  Chinese  pieces  of  a 
pattern  evidently  brought  from  Europe  cen- 
turies before.  Many  of  them  bore  inscrip- 
tions showing  that  they  were  made  in  China 
about  two  hundred  years  ago.  About  four 
feet  in  length,  the  part  around  the  breech 
was  enlarged  and  open  at  the  top.  To  each 
gun  there  were  from  two  to  six  removable 
chambers,  which,  being  loaded,  could  be  easily 
put  in  one  after  the  other,  and  the  piece  be 
thus  fired  repeatedly  in  quick  successsion. 
Rudely  mounted  on  logs  and  strapped  to 
their  supports  with  vines  or  willow  withes, 
fourscore  of  these  petty  cannon  were  ar- 


THE  AMERICANS  OPEN  COREA. 


197 


ranged  in  one  redoubt,  overlooking  the  river 
and  bearing  exactly  on  mid-channel.  The 
fort  was  built  on  a rocky  tongue  of  land 
which  jutted  out  from  the  left  bank.  On 
the  opposite  side,  on  points  of  vantage,  was 
a series  of  still  stronger  fortifications. 

Commodore  Perry’s  Japan  policy  of  patient 
waiting  and  friendly  enticement  was  not  fol- 
lowed by  the  Americans  ; for  after  some  ex- 
change of  communications  with  the  prefect 
of  In-chiun  (the  nearest  town  and  now  the 
treaty-port),  the  leaders  of  the  American 
expedition  seem  to  have  lost  patience  and 
sent  an  armed  force  up  the  river  “ to  sur- 
vey.” 

The  Coreans,  unable  to  interpret  such  an 
action  as  friendly,  waited  till  they  had  the 
invaders  in  their  power,  and  then  took  the 
revenge  of  the  weak  against  the  strong. 

At  noon  of  June  2d,  Captain  Homer  C. 
Blake  (of  the  Alabama-and-Hatteras  fame), 
with  the  gunboats  Monocacy  and  Palos  and 
four  steam-launches,  moved  up  the  current, 
making  surveys,  yet  ready  for  attack,  the 
men  in  the  boats  being  fully  armed. 

Rounding  a point  near  the  lower  end  of 


198 


COREA. 


Kang-wa  Island,  the  eighty  guns  of  the  Co- 
rean  batteries  suddenly  opened — a moment 
too  late,  however — and  a sheet  of  flame 
wrapped  the  redoubt,  which  in  a few  seconds 
discharged  about  three  hundred  shot.  These 
rasped  the  water  like  a hail-storm.  The 
veterans  of  our  Civil  War  had  never  known 
such  rapid  firing.  Yet  only  one  American 
was  wounded. 

Not  knowing  the  exact  channel  of  the 
river,  and  nearer  one  side  than  the  other,  our 
men,  aided  by  the  momentary  lateness  of  the 
Corean  general’s  order  to  fire,  escaped  with 
a wetting.  The  rude  artillery  of  the  na- 
tives, being  fixed  on  logs,  was  of  no  further 
avail. 

The  launches  opened  at  once  with  their 
bow-howitzers,  and  the  gunboats  came  steam- 
ing round  the  point,  throwing  eight-  and 
ten-inch  shell  into  the  fort.  A few  volleys 
swept  it  clean  of  defenders,  and  the  survey- 
boats  returned  to  report  the  “ treachery  ” to 
the  admiral. 

“ To  make  the  story  short,  they  (the 
Americans)  having  trailed  their  coats  before 
the  faces  of  the  Coreans,  and  having  at  last 


THE  AMERICANS  OPEN  COREA. 


199 


persuaded  the  Coreans  to  step  on  them,  de- 
manded an  apology  for  the  insult.”1 

The  admiral,  after  notifying  the  Coreans 
of  his  intention  to  wipe  out  the  insult  to  the 
American  flag  unless  an  apology  was  made 
within  ten  da}Ts,  prepared  to  inflict  heavy 
chastisement.  A “ stalwart  policy  ” was  re- 
solved on,  and  treaty-making  was  forgotten 
in  the  stern  joys  of  war. 

“ The  Coreans  wrote  back  sensibly,  and 
said  they  were  very  sorry,  but  they  supposed 
any  nation  would  have  done  the  same.”  2 
On  the  10th  the  two  gunboats  and  the 
launches,  containing  all  the  available  force 
that  could  be  spared,  amounting  to  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  started  on  the  first 
warlike  expedition  in  which  our  navy  had 
been  engaged  since  the  Civil  War.  The 
landing-force,  composed  of  six  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  was  under  the  command  of  Com- 
mander L.  A.  Kimberly.  Lieutenant-Com- 
mander Winfield  Scott  Schley  (since  re- 
nowned as  the  rescuer  of  Lieutenant  Greely 

*, 2 From  the  remarks  of  Mr.  E.  B.  Drew,  secretary  to  the 
American  Minister  and  president  of  the  North  China  Branch 
of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  at  its  meeting  at  Shanghai,  Janu- 
ary, 1884,  printed  in  the  North  China  Daily  News. 


200 


COREA. 


and  the  Arctic  heroes)  was  the  efficient  ex- 
ecutive officer  and  adjutant-general  of  the 
expedition. 

The  naval  battalion  was  arranged  into  ten 
infantry  companies,  and  the  battery,  of  seven 
howitzers,  was  under  Lieutenant  Douglas 
Cassel.  The  Monocacy  was  strengthened  in 
her  armament  by  two  of  the  Colorado’s  nine- 
inch  guns. 

Landing  eight  hundred  yards  below  the 
first  fort,  the  infantry  formed  and  the  ma- 
rines deployed  as  skirmishers.  The  first  or 
“ marine  ” battery  was  easily  entered  after 
being  shelled  by  the  gunboats.  The  Co- 
reans,  being  taken  unexpectedly  in  the 
rear,  could  not  defend  it.  After  thorough- 
ly demolishing  the  works  and  rolling  the 
cannon  into  the  river,  our  forces  camped  out 
for  the  night  on  the  plateau  in  rear  of  the 
fort. 

The  next  day  was  hot  and  clear.  The 
short  march  to  the  middle  fort  began  at 
7 a.  m.  The  Monocacy  resumed  her  splendid 
target-practice,  and  the  inside  was  soon 
cleared,  after  which  the  naval  battalion 
dismantled  it  thoroughly.  From  “ Fort 


THE  AMERICANS  OPEN  COREA. 


201 


Monocacy  ” the  advance  was  made  to  the 
citadel  on  the  crest  of  the  rocky  hill. 

The  white  coats,  keeping  to  the  rear  of 
our  forces  beyond  range  of  the  gunboat 
shells,  seemed  to  be  waiting  till  our  men 
entered  the  ravine  below  the  hill-fort.  Their 
purpose  was  then  to  overwhelm  our  little 
army  by  vastly  superior  numbers.  They 
might  have  succeeded,  but  for  the  brilliant 
strategy  of  the  American  commander. 

Placing  five  howitzers  and  two  companies 
of  infantry  as  a rear-guard  on  rising  ground, 
the  main  body  of  our  men  moved  on  to 
storm  the  fort.  The  Coreans  charged  on 
the  howitzers  of  the  left  section,  commanded 
by  Master  A.  V.  Wadhams,  but  the  cool  and 
steady  practice  of  our  men  at  long  range 
scattered  them,  so  that  no  large  body  of  the 
enemy,  brave  as  they  were,  could  get  into 
close  action. 

The  gunboats  now  sent  a storm  of  shell 
into  the  fort,  breaching  the  walls  and  deple- 
ting the  garrison.  At  a signal  the  fire  from 
the  ships  ceased,  and  with  a yell  our  marines 
and  sailors  dashed  up  the  steep  incline,  and 
under  the  rain  of  jingal-balls  leaped  through 


202 


COREA. 


tlie  breaches  or  scaled  the  ramparts  into  the 
fort.  A hand-to-hand  fight  ensued — spear 
against  bayonet,  matchlock  against  rifle. 
Those  not  slain  inside  were  brought  down  by 
the  bullets  of  the  American  breech-loaders. 
Lieutenant  McKee  and  two  men  on  our  side 
were  killed  and  eight  wounded.  Lieut.-Com- 
mander  W.  Scott  Schley  was,  with  McKee, 
one  of  the  first  over  the  parapet  into  the  fort, 
and  Captain  McLane  Tilton  and  two  marines 
hauled  down  the  large  flag.  The  Coreans  in 
the  fort  did  not  run  away,  but,  not  knowing 
enough  to  ask  for  quarter,  kept  on  fighting 
till  all  of  them  were  killed. 

The  other  two  forts  below  the  citadel,  being 
open  from  the  main  work,  were  easily  entered. 
For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  our  coun- 
try the  Stars  and  Stripes  waved  over  an  Asiat- 
ic fortress  captured  by  the  military  forces  of 
the  United  States.  Within  forty-eight  hours 
the  naval  battalion  had  captured  five  forts, 
fifty  flags  and  four  hundred  and  eighty-one 
pieces  of  artillery,  mostly  of  small  bore, 
though  some  were  French  thirty-two-,  twen- 
ty-four- and  twenty-pounders,  recovered  from 
wrecks  or  modeled  from  the  cannon  found  in 


THE  AMERICANS  OPEN  COREA.  203 

them.  In  honor  of  the  gallant  young  officer 
the  citadel  was  named  Fort  McKee. 

In  spite  of  the  brilliant  success  of  our 
navy,  “ our  little  war  with  the  heathen  ” was, 
morally,  a repulse  and  a defeat,  for  the  su- 
preme purpose  of  the  expedition  wTas  diplo- 
matic, not  naval.  After  thirty-five  days’ 
stay  in  Corean  waters,  the  fleet  returned  to 
Chifu,  arriving  July  5th,  where  the  first 
news  received  was  of  the  Tientsin  massacre 
of  June  20th. 

Though  in  Cho-sen  the  masses  believed 
that  “ our  boys  ” and  the  tiger-hunters  from 
Ping-an  had  driven  off  “ the  barbarians  of 
the  flowery  flag,”  yet  the  thinking  men  saw 
at  once  how  helpless  their  country  was  against 
an  attack  by  a foreign  power.  “ The  defeat 
which  the  Coreans  received  in  1871  probably 
made  them  inclined  in  1881  and  1882  to 
treat  with  their  fellows.”1 

In  1873  the  young  king  attained  his  ma- 
jority, and  by  the  aid  of  Queen  Clio  and  the 
liberal  party  retired  the  regent  from  office. 
An  heir  to  the  king  was  born,  and  under 

1 Dr.  S.  "Wells  Williams  in  a letter  to  the  writer  dated  Feb. 
8,  1883. 


204 


COREA. 


these  favoring  auspices  the  national  policy 
of  isolation  weakened  and  that  of  friend- 
ship with  foreign  nations  began  to  grow  in 
strength. 

Heretofore,  a strip  of  neutral  uninhabited 
territory  had,  by  mutual  agreement  of  China 
and  Corea,  divided  the  two  countries.  Grad- 
ually, however,  lawless  characters  from  either 
side  of  the  Yalu  River  had  infested  the  fast- 
nesses of  the  hills,  while  Chinese  farmers, 
“ squatters,”  had  pre-empted  or  were  cultivat- 
ing the  fertile  portions.  These  latter,  as  well 
as  the  Coreans,  making  complaint  to  the  em- 
peror, Li  Hung  Chang,  the  viceroy  of  Chi-li, 
under  pretence  of  putting  down  piracy  and 
border-ruffianism,  sent  a gunboat  up  the 
Yalu,  along  with  land-troops  and  surveyors. 
The  logical  consequences  followed.  The 
Chinese  frontier  was  “ rectified  ” and  made 
“ scientific.”  China  thus  wiped  out  the  neu- 
tral zone  and  added  about  fifteen  thousand 
square  miles  to  her  territory. 

To  this  the  Coreans  of  necessity  submitted, 
but  from  Japan  they  refused  to  receive  en- 
voys of  the  Mikado  on  the  plea  of  their 
being  dressed  in  Western  clothes,  the  official 


THE  AMERICANS  OPEN  COREA. 


205 


garb  of  the  Japanese  from  ambassador  to 
sailor  being  now  European.  On  the  19th 
of  September,  1875,  the  crew  of  the  Japan- 
ese gunboat  Unyo-kwan,  while  landing  for 
water  on  Kang-wa  Island,  were  fired  on  by 
the  garrison  of  a neighboring  fort,  being 
mistaken  for  Americans  or  Frenchmen.  The 
force  of  thirty-six  Japanese  at  once  stormed, 
captured  and  dismantled  the  fort,  occupying 
it  with  colors  apeak  for  two  days.  In  strik- 
ing proof  of  the  true  temper  of  the  court  of 
Seoul,  the  young  king  at  once  ordered  the 
native  officer  who  had  given  the  order  to  fire 
upon  unoffending  persons  to  be  degraded  and 
sent  into  exile. 

This  flagrant  insult  to  the  flag  of  a nation 
to  which  the  Coreans  had  for  centuries  been 
tributary  roused  the  whole  empire  of  Japan 
to  the  highest  pitch  of  excitement  and  quick- 
ly unified  all  opinions  in  a common  sentiment 
of  action.  The  “ peace  ” and  the  “ war  ” 
parties  were  represented  respectively  in  the 
persons  of  Minister  Mori  (late  envoy  to 
Washington),  who  went  to  Peking,  and  of 
General  Kuroda,  who  sailed  with  a fleet  of 
war-steamers  into  the  Han  River.  Following 


206 


COREA. 


in  detail  the  methods  of  Commodore  Matthew 
Calbraith  Perry,  our  great  sailor-diplomat 
who  opened  Japan,  Kuroda  obtained  apolo- 
gies for  the  Kang-wa  outrage,  and  signed,  Feb- 
ruary 27th,  a treaty  of  peace  and  friendship. 

The  government  of  Ta  Cho-sun  showed  its 
good  faith  by  responding  promptly,  and  the 
first  modern  Corean  embassy — accredited  not 
to  the  “ Tycoon,”  but  to  the  Mikado — sailed  to 
Japan  in  a Japanese  war-steamer,  and  arrived 
at  Yokohama  May  29, 1876.  The  rather  an- 
cient-looking party  rode  by  steam-cars  and 
railway  to  Tokio,  where  in  the  railway-sta- 
tion the  old  Barbarism  and  the  new  Civil- 
ization were  confronted  in  striking  contrast. 

To  recognize  Cho-sen  as  a sovereign  inde- 
pendent state,  and  not  as  a tributary  vassal, 
cost  Japan  seven  months  of  civil  war  in  “ the 
Satsuma  rebellion,”  twenty  thousand  lives 
and  fifty  millions  of  dollars. 

Fusan,  the  loophole  on  the  south-eastern 
coast  of  Corea  by  which  communication  was 
formerly  had  with  J apan,  now  became  not  only 
a place  of  thriving  commerce,  but  a port  of  call 
for  the  war-vessels  of  nearly  every  first-class 
Europeanpower  seekingtheprivileges  of  trade 


THE  AMERICANS  OPEN  COREA. 


207 


and  treaty  with  the  little  nation.  Wen-shan, 
or  Gensan,  on  Broughton’s  Bay,  was  opened 
May  1,  1880,  and  a second  embassy  from 
Seoul  visited  Japan  during  the  summer  to 
study  Western  civilization  applied  to  an 
Oriental  people. 

The  Americans  were  not  idle.  Having 
enjoyed  the  prestige  of  opening  Japan,  it 
seemed  to  be  our  national  duty  and  opportu- 
nity to  open  Corea  also.  Senator  Sargent  of 
California  (and  afterward  minister  to  Ger- 
many) on  the  8th  of  April,  1878,  offered  a 
resolution  that  President  Hayes  appoint  a 
commissioner  to  arrange  by  peaceful  means 
a treaty  of  peace  and  commerce  between  the 
United  States  and  the  kingdom  of  Corea. 
On  the  14th  of  May,  1880,  Commodore  R. 
W.  Shufeldt  in  the  U.  S.  S.  S.  Ticonderoga 
appeared  at  Fusan,  and  applied  to  the  au- 
thorities for  a friendly  interview.  He  also 
forwarded  a copy  of  the  kindly  letter  ad- 
dressed to  him  by  the  king’s  orders  in  1867 
explaining  the  General  Sherman  affair;  yet 
neither  during  this  visit,  nor  at  a second  one 
later  on,  after  a conference  with  the  Ameri- 
can minister  in  Japan,  was  the  commo- 


208 


COREA. 


dore  successful.  His  triumph,  however,  was 
merely  postponed. 

The  Japanese  pressed  their  claims,  and 
the  Coreans  promised  to  open  the  port  of  In- 
chiun  or  Jen-shan,  a town  twenty-five  miles 
from  Seoul.  Parties  at  court  were  now  di- 
vided between  the  “ Civilization  ” or  “ Pro- 
gressive ” and  the  “ Exclusionists,”  “ Port- 
closers,”  “ Foreigner-haters  ” or  ultra-Confu- 
cianists.  The  innovators  were  subdivided 
into  pro-Japanese  and  pro-Chinese,  accord- 
ing as  they  preferred  the  former  or  the  latter 
policy  and  methods  of  gradual  “ Western- 
ization.” Speeches,  memorials  and  debates 
multiplied,  and  the  fierce  excitement  threat- 
ened to  burst  into  riot  and  bloodshed  or  civil 
war. 

Nevertheless,  the  party  of  progress  ob- 
tained substantial  victory.  Young  men  were 
sent  as  students  both  to  China  and  Japan  to 
learn  foreign  methods,  and  Corean  agents 
gave  the  American  legation  in  Peking  strong- 
hints  that  all  things  were  now  ready  for  a 
treaty. 

Commodore  R.  W.  Shufeldt,  who,  after  a 
year’s  arduous  and  delicate  diplomatic  efforts 


THE  AMERICANS  OPEN  COREA.  209 

in  China,  had  succeeded  in  arranging  the 
preliminaries  at  Tientsin,  sailed  in  the  Uni- 
ted States  steamship  Swatara  to  In-chiun, 
and  there,  on  the  7th  of  May,  1882,  signed 
the  treaty.  Perseverance  and  long  years  of 
waiting  had  at  last  crowned  with  success  the 
diplomatic  labors  of  this  eminent  naval  offi- 
cer. 

14 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


HERMIT  NO  MORE  [1883-85.) 

LMOST  before  the  ultra- conservatives  of 


the  once-“  hermit  nation  ” could  realize 
what  had  happened,  their  country  was  com- 
mitted to  a policy  of  international  fraternity, 
and  was  being  peacefully  invaded  with  new 
ideas.  With  the  Japanese  legation  of  forty 
persons  in  Seoul,  the  king’s  body-guard 
drilled  by  a Japanese  lieutenant,  and  the 
visiting  war-ships  of  China,  Japan,  France, 
England,  Germany  and  the  United  States  at 
In-chiun,  the  feelings  of  the  bigoted  Confu- 
cianists  were  put  to  severe  strain.  Yet  the 
old  regent  was  still  alive  and  plotting,  and 
around  him  the  hostile  elements  gathered. 

Corea  is  a stronghold  of  superstition,  and 
during  the  summer  of  1881  the  rice-harvest 
failed  on  account  of  the  drought.  The  horde 
of  geomancers,  sorcerers  and  diviners  who 
fatten  on  the  vitals  of  Corea  now  assisted  the 


210 


King  and  Queen  of  Corea.  Page  211. 


HERMIT  NO  MORE. 


211 


fanatical  Confucianists  to  inflame  the  popular 
fears.  They  ascribed  the  impending  famine 
and  all  the  national  calamities  to  the  anger 
of  the  spirits  of  Heaven  and  Earth,  caused 
by  opening  the  ports  and  defiling  “ the  sacred 
country  ” with  foreigners. 

On  the  23d  of  July,  1882,  the  king,  who 
holds  in  his  person  the  monopoly  of  worship, 
was  out  in  the  open  air  praying  for  rain 
when  a mob  of  the  regent’s  sympathizers 
attempted  to  seize  the  royal  person  and  thus 
dictate  the  policy  of  the  court.  He  escaped 
to  his  castle,  but  during  the  excitement  a 
report  was  started  that  the  Japanese  had  at- 
tacked the  royal  palace  and  the  guards  were 
being  defeated.  A mob  rapidly  gathered, 
demolished  the  houses  of  the  ministers  who 
were  prominent  in  favoring  foreign  inter- 
course, and  then  moved  to  the  attack  of  the 
Japanese  legation.  From  six  o’clock  until 
ten  at  night  the  city  ruffians  bombarded  the 
wood-and-plaster  edifice  with  bullets,  arrows, 
and  stones,  which  they  hurled  with  peculiar 
skill. 

The  valor  of  the  Japanese  was  worthy  of 
the  best  days  of  their  chivalry.  At  ten 


212 


COREA. 


o’clock,  after  firing  their  buildings,  they 
moved  out  in  a circle,  charged  their  assail- 
ants, forced  the  barricades  and  made  their 
escape  in  a pouring  rain  across  the  river. 
Reaching  In-chiun  the  next  day  at  3 p.  m., 
they  lay  down  to  sleep  in  the  house  tendered 
them  by  the  local  magistrate.  Two  hours 
later  they  were  attacked  by  a local  mob  of 
soldiers  and  ruffians.  Again  bravely  charg- 
ing vastly  superior  numbers,  they  made  their 
way  to  Chimulpo,  the  port  proper,  and  thence 
escaped  to  Roze  Island  opposite.  Putting  to 
sea  in  a junk,  they  were  picked  up  by  the 
British  survey-ship  Flying  Fish  and  carried 
to  Nagasaki.  Only  twenty-six  persons  es- 
caped out  of  the  forty  who  composed  the 
legation. 

Everything  was  now  under  control  of  the 
old  regent,  and  for  a moment  the  fanatical 
reactionists  had  their  own  way.  The  regent, 
however,  regretted  the  disorders  and  pro- 
fessed a change  of  views,  fearing  the  displeas- 
ure of  his  Chinese  master. 

On  the  16th  of  August,  Hanabusa,  the 
Japanese  minister,  with  a military  escort  re- 
entered Seoul  and  was  received  with  respect. 


HERMIT  NO  MORE. 


213 


He  demanded  the  punishment  of  the  mur- 
derers, the  honorable  interment  of  the  Jap- 
anese dead  and  indemnity  of  a half  million 
dollars,  military  protection  of  the  legation 
by  Japanese  troops  and  further  trade  exten- 
sion and  facilities  of  travel.  The  hesitating 
court  was  brought  to  terms  by  a menace  of 
war,  on  August  30th,  and  agreed  to  all  the 
demands. 

The  Chinese  had  not  been  inactive,  but  on 
the  first  news  of  the  riot  in  Seoul,  Li  Hung 
Chang  despatched  a force  of  four  thousand 
troops  to  Corea.  On  the  25th  of  August, 
under  pressure  of  the  Chinese  army  at  the 
capital,  the  old  regent  accepted  an  invitation 
to  go  on  board  the  Chinese  fleet  at  In-chiun. 
Thence  he  was  forcibly  carried  to  the  coun- 
try of  Confucius.  Whether  the  motive  of 
Li  Hung  Chang  was  to  protect  the  regent 
from  possible  violence,  to  illustrate  the  theory 
of  Chinese  suzerainty  over  a vassal  state,  or 
to  affront  and  humiliate  Japan  is  not  known. 
To  the  chagrin  of  the  Japanese  and  the  grief 
of  the  king,  the  old  man  still  remains  a pris- 
oner in  China. 

Hanabusa,  the  Japanese  minister,  was 


214 


COREA. 


honored  by  promotion  and  made  the  Mi- 
kado’s envoy  to  St.  Petersburg.  Japanese 
military  encampments  are  now  established 
at  the  capital  and  seaport.  In  this  respect 
the  Japanese  follow  out  the  precedent  estab- 
lished by  the  French  and  English  on  their 
own  soil  after  the  opening  of  their  ports  by 
treaty  in  1860.  As  the  European  battalions 
were  in  due  time  withdrawn  from  Tokio  and 
Yokohama,  so  when  the  anti- foreign  elements 
in  Corea  are  subdued,  and  the  central  gov- 
ernment is  sufficiently  strong  to  compel  the 
absolute  obedience  of  its  people  to  the  trea- 
ties, both  Chinese  and  Japanese  garrisons 
will  be  withdrawn. 

Our  government  lost  no  time  in  carrying 
out  the  stipulations  of  the  Shufeldt  treaty. 
With  slight  amendments  the  Senate  ratified 
the  compact,  and  on  the  26th  of  February, 
1883,  President  Arthur  sent  in  for  nomina- 
tion the  name  of  General  Lucius  H.  Foote 
as  minister  plenipotentiary  to  Corea.  He 
was  confirmed  the  next  day,  and,  speedily 
reaching  his  destination,  the  formal  exchange 
of  ratifications  was  made  in  Seoul  May  19, 
1883.  The  first  salute  ever  given  to  the  Co- 


HERMIT  NO  MORE. 


215 


rean  flag  was  fired  May  loth,  1883,  from  the 
same  guns  of  the  same  ship,  Monocacy,  which 
had  been  used  in  bombarding  the  Han  forts 
twelve  years  before. 

The  Coreans  responded  to  American  cour- 
tesy by  despatching  a mission  to  the  United 
States,  which  on  the  2d  of  September  arrived 
in  San  Francisco.  Proceeding  to  Washing- 
ton, and  thence  to  New  York,  they  had  au- 
dience of  the  President  in  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Hotel  on  the  17th  of  September.  They 
then  visited  Boston,  and  for  several  weeks 
devoted  themselves  to  the  study  and  enjoy- 
ment of  American  life  and  institutions.  The 
principal  persons  in  the  embassy  were  Min 
Yong  Ik,  the  chief  minister,  a nobleman  of 
highest  rank  and  nephew  of  the  queen,  and 
Hong  Yong  Sik,  a son  of  the  prime  minister. 
They  were  accompanied  by  a secretary,  five 
attached  subordinates,  interpreters  and  Chi- 
nese and  English  assistants,  numbering  in 
all  eleven  persons. 

The  Coreans  were  attired  in  their  national 
dress  of  loose  garments,  mostly  white,  made 
of  silk  or  cotton,  baggy  shoes  and  gauze 
hats  of  ample  perimeter.  After  a stay  of 


216 


COREA. 


a month  a part  of  the  embassy  returned 
home  by  way  of  San  Francisco.  The  min- 
ister1 and  his  interpreter  and  secretary  em- 
barked November  30th  on  the  United  States 
steamship-of-war  Trenton  in  order  to  visit 
the  European  capitals.  Two  American  na- 
val officers  were  detailed  as  naval  attaches 
to  the  American  legation  at  Seoul  to  report 
upon  the  resources  of  Cho-sen.  These,  with 
a secretary,  an  attache  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  and  the  minister  and  his  wife, 
constitute  the  family  of  the  American  lega- 
tion in  Seoul. 

Admiral  Welles  of  the  British  navy,  on 
hearing  of  the  success  of  Commodore  Shu- 
feldt,  proceeded  to  Corea  and  made  a treaty 
on  the  basis  of  the  American.  This,  after 
being  submitted  by  Mr.  Gladstone  and  Earl 
Granville  to  the  chambers  of  commerce  at 
Hong-Kong,  Shanghai  and  Yokohama,  and 
adversely  reported  on  by  them,  was  rejected 

1 The  writer  spent  a most  delightful  evening,  November  27th, 
with  the  Corean  minister  and  the  two  members  of  his  suite  at 
the  Victoria  Hotel  conversing  upon  Corean  topics,  during  which 
time  much  light  was  thrown  upon  a number  of  moot  points. 
No  information  about  Hamel’s  party  of  Dutchmen  or  upon  Co- 
rean Christianity  could,  however,  be  gained. 


HERMIT  NO  MORE. 


217 


by  the  British  government,  and  preparations 
were  made  for  obtaining  a better  one.  On 
the  6th  of  October,  1883,  Mr.  W.  G.  Aston, 
the  accomplished  Corean  scholar  and  acting 
British  consul  at  Hiogo,  Japan,  sailed  for 
Seoul  and  made  preparations  for  the  coming 
of  Sir  Harry  S.  Parkes,  the  able  minister 
of  Great  Britain  to  China  and  formerly  to 
Japan.  On  the  26th  of  November  the  new 
treaty,  which  was  even  more  liberal  in  its 
provisions,  both  for  trade  and  in  matters  of 
religion,  than  the  American,  was  signed  on 
behalf  of  Great  Britain  and  of  Germany. 
The  later  country  was  represented  at  Seoul 
hy  Mr.  E.  Zappe,  consul-general  of  the  Ger- 
man Empire  in  Japan,  Professor  Mayet  of 
Tokio,  and  Herr  Budler,  interpreter  of  the 
consulate  at  Amoy. 

Another  distinguished  German,  Paul  von 
Mbllendorf,  has  since  1881  been  employed 
in  charge  of  the  Corean  Foreign  Office  and 
as  general  adviser  in  governmental  affairs, 
such  as  international  law,  treaties,  revenues, 
coinage,  customs  service,  lighthouses  and  the 
multifarious  details  of  the  reorganization  of 
a national  policy.  Mr.  Joseph  Haas,  late 


218 


COREA. 


Austrian  consul  at  Shanghai,  has  been  in- 
spector of  Corean  customs. 

On  the  evening  of  the  27th  of  November 
the  foreigners  from  Christendom  then  in  the 
capital  (except  the  French  missionaries,  un- 
known and  hidden  in  disguise),  with  the 
Chinese  and  Japanese  ministers,  assembled 
at  a banquet  given  by  the  Corean  govern- 
ment in  Western  style  at  the  English  Lan- 
guage School  in  Seoul.  The  band  of  the 
man-of-war  Leipsic  played  alternately  with 
a company  of  native  Corean  musicians.  The 
next  day  the  English  party  left  the  capital 
on  horseback.  On  their  way  they  rode  past 
fifteen  headless  and  half-charred  corpses  of 
incendiaries  lying  in  one  of  the  main  streets 
of  the  capital.  Such  sights  in  the  squalid 
and  filthy  capital  of  a pagan  nation  show 
the  crying  need  of  pure  Christianity  and 
of  civilization  of  the  right  sort. 

On  New  Year’s  Day,  January  28,  1884 
(lunar  calendar),  the  king  gave  audience  to 
the  American  minister  and  to  the  Japanese 
and  Chinese  envoys,  and  the  capital  was  gay 
with  callers  and  the  festivities  of  the  sea- 
son. The  rapid  importation  of  Japanese, 


HERMIT  NO  MORE. 


219 


Chinese,  American  and  European  fabrics 
and  novelties,  the  opening  of  a telegraph- 
office,  February  28th,  at  Fusan  on  the  com- 
pletion of  the  submarine  electric  cable  to 
Nagasaki,  the  return  of  the  embassy  to  the 
United  States  in  May,  with  many  other 
minor  indications  of  progress,  promise  great 
changes  for  the  better  in  Corea.  Nor  can 
we  doubt  that  yet  other  advances  in  civili- 
zation will  be  made.  The  issue  of  silver 
coins  will  greatly  facilitate  the  transac- 
tion of  business.  The  native  custom- 
houses, when  fully  in  charge  of  expert 
foreigners  of  good  character,  will  doubt- 
less yield  a revenue  sufficient  to  enable 
the  government  to  erect  lighthouses  along 
the  coast  “ to  give  light  and  to  save 
life.” 

As  indicative  of  a most  sincere  desire  to 
promote  commerce  and  friendship  with  our 
country,  His  Corean  Majesty  has  appointed 
as  his  consul-general  in  the  United  States  Mr. 
Everett  Fraser,  of  No.  123  Front  street,  New 
York,  and  formerly  an  American  merchant 
in  China.  The  special  committee  appointed 
by  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce 


220 


COREA. 


to  examine  into  the  commercial  possibilities 
of  our  new  treaty-neighbor  reported  April 
3d.  They  suggested  that  a permanent  Amer- 
ican trading-establishment  should  be  opened 
at  Seoul.  Already  our  petroleum,  flour,  ma- 
chinery, watches  and  clocks,  notions,  breech- 
loading rifles  and  miscellaneous  American 
products  are  becoming  familiar  in  this  our 
nearest  Western  neighbor  after  Japan.  Min- 
ister Foote  has  informed  the  State  Depart- 
ment that  a line  of  American  steamers  will 
ply  among  the  rivers  and  ports  of  Corea. 

The  officers  of  the  Monocacy  have  been, 
during  the  spring  and  summer  of  1882, 
busily  employed  in  surveying  the  mouths 
of  the  Han  River.  With  these  British, 
Japanese  and  American  hydrographic  la- 
bors, soon  to  be  manifested  in  charts,  the 
coast  of  the  once-“  forbidden  land  ” will  be 
safe  to  the  vessels  of  all  nations.  During 
the  month  of  September,  1884,  the  envoys 
of  Russia  and  Italy  were  in  Seoul  making 
treaties  of  friendship  and  commerce.  The 
once  “little  outpost  state”  has  already  en- 
tered into  international  relations  with  no 
fewer  than  seven  distant  nations. 


Map  allowing  relations  of  Corea  to  China  and  Japan.  I>,w.  22l 


HERMIT  NO  MORE. 


221 


We  shall  in  closing  this  chapter  glance 
at  the  recent  outbreaks  of  December  4-7, 
1884,  and  the  causes  leading  to  this  latest 
“ revolution.” 

With  the  jealous  rivals,  China  and  Ja- 
pan, on  two  sides  of  her,  the  one  claiming 
Corea  as  a vassal,  and  the  other  having  done 
the  same  for  centuries,  and  now  resolutely 
determined  to  allow  no  preponderance  of 
Chinese  influence,  and  with  “ ravenous  Rus- 
sia” coveting  her  islands  and  harbors,  the 
political  situation  of  “ the  little  kingdom  ” 
is  not  enviable.  Since  1882,  Chinese  and 
Japanese  troops  have  been  encamped  in  or 
near  Seoul.  Of  late  the  necessities  of  China, 
in  view  of  French  invasion,  compelled  her 
to  reduce  her  Corean  contingent,  while  the 
Japanese  legation-guard  at  no  time  num- 
bered over  three  hundred  armed  men.  By 
the  great  care  and  discretion  of  their  officers 
no  collision  between  the  Chinese  and  Jap- 
anese military  had  yet  taken  place,  though 
the  fact  that  native  political  opinions  were 
divided  according  to  the  rival  camps  made 
the  presence  of  these  foreign  troops  a con- 
tinual source  of  danger.  The  feeling  be- 


222 


COREA. 


tween  the  Conservatives,  or  pro-Chinese,  and 
the  Progressionists,  or  pro-Japanese,  was  at 
this  time  exceedingly  strained,  and  a fresh 
source  of  irritation  lay  in  the  attitude  of 
Min  Yong  Ik,  the  nephew  of  the  queen 
and  late  envoy  to  the  United  States.  This 
officer,  who  was  all  along  supposed  to  be  of 
Progressive  ideas,  seemed  on  his  return  to 
favor  the  Conservatives.  Besides  being 
greatly  chagrined  at  the  loss  of  their  ex- 
pected leader,  the  radical  Progressives  sus- 
pected that  the  Conservatives  were  plotting 
to  ruin  them,  and  so  resolved  to  forestall  the 
supposed  impending  danger.  The  first  step, 
therefore,  was  to  remove  the  “ renegade”  and 
the  principal  royal  ministers,  who  were  pro- 
Chinese. 

Among  the  improvements  recently  intro- 
duced was  a national  postal  system.  At  the 
entertainment  given  at  the  opening  of  the 
Postal  Bureau  on  the  evening  of  December 
4,  1884,  all  the  foreign  ministers  and  chief 
government  officials  were  present.  The  ban- 
quet was  nearly  over  when  a fire  broke  out 
in  the  rear  of  the  building,  greatly  to  the 
disturbance  of  the  guests.  Min  Yong  Ik, 


HERMIT  NO  MORE. 


223 


who  had  been  called  out  to  attend  to  a mes- 
senger, was,  while  standing  in  the  front  gar- 
den, violently  assailed  by  five  or  six  men. 
After  inflicting  severe  wounds  they  were 
driven  off  by  people  in  the  post-office,  and 
their  victim  was  promptly  attended  to  by  Dr. 
H.  N.  Allen,  of  the  Presbyterian  mission. 

Fires  now  broke  out  in  other  parts  of  the 
city,  and  guests  scattered  to  their  homes. 
The  commotion  in  the  streets  increased,  and 
the  palace  was  surrounded  by  an  angry  mob. 
What  followed  may  be  condensed  in  the  fol- 
lowing statement : 

“ During  the  disturbance  the  king  sent 
for  the  Japanese  troops  to  protect  the  pal- 
ace. This  was  resented  by  the  Chinese,  and 
the  result  was  that  the  Chinese  military  drove 
the  Japanese  soldiers  from  the  palace,  and  in 
the  fighting  which  occurred  several  were 
killed  on  both  sides.  As  the  Chinese  troops 
were  much  more  numerous  than  the  Jap- 
anese, and  were  also  aided  by  the  Corean 
soldiery,  the  Japanese  retired,  and  a general 
outbreak  succeeded.  The  Japanese  Lega- 
tion and  army  stores  were  burned.”1 

1 At  midnight,  Mr.  Takezoi,  the  Japanese  minister,  received 


224 


COREA. 


Rear-Admiral  Davis,  on  hearing  the  news, 
left  Nagasaki  in  the  U.  S.  flag-ship  Trenton, 

a message  from  the  king  asking  the  protection  of  his  legation- 
guard,  as  signs  of  outrage  and  disturbance  were  increasing. 
Between  the  two  factions  even  the  royal  person  and  residence 
were  in  danger.  Tak^zoi  hesitated  at  first,  but  on  receiving 
another  urgent — and  this  time  written— request,  he  marched  a 
party  of  his  troops,  numbering  one  hundred  and  eighty,  to  the 
palace,  which  was  at  once  guarded.  The  king,  who  had  fled 
to  his  cousin’s  house,  returned  again  to  the  palace,  and  the 
Japanese  held  guard  through  the  5th  and  6th  of  December. 
During  the  early  part  of  the  outbreak  some  of  the  radical 
Progressives  sent  a forged  order  of  the  king,  sealed  with  the 
great  seal  of  the  state,  to  the  six  high  ministers  to  come  to 
the  palace.  They  came,  and  were  all  murdered. 

The  Conservatives  meanwhile  were  not  idle,  but  stirred  up 
the  Chinese  troops,  whose  officers  considered  it  their  preroga- 
tive to  protect  the  king  and  royal  palace.  Branding  the  Pro- 
gressives, and  especially  the  rioters,  as  rebels,  the  leaders  of  the 
Conservative  faction  easily  persuaded  the  Chinese  to  move  in 
force  to  the  castle.  First  scattering  the  adherents  of  the  Pro- 
gressives, they  arrived  at  the  palace  about  four  o’clock  on 
the  afternoon  of  the  6th  and  surrounded  it. 

Firing  at  once  began  between  the  Chinese  and  Coreans, 
numbering  several  thousands,  and  the  Japanese ; and  the  palace 
was  obscured  in  smoke,  through  which  the  king  fled,  only  to 
be  seized  by  the  Chinese  party,  who  had  already  gained  cus- 
tody of  the  queen  and  king’s  mother.  The  Japanese,  now 
sorely  pressed,  retired  in  good  order  to  their  legation.  Though 
several  times  attacked  on  the  way  by  Chinese  and  Coreans,  they 
lost  but  three  men,  owing  to  the  steadiness  of  their  fire,  deliv- 
ered in  volleys  when  lying  down  flat.  They  regained  their 
quarters  in  the  evening.  That  night  and  all  the  next  day  the 
incendiaries  and  rioters  held  the  city  in  terror  and  the  legation 
in  a state  of  siege.  With  firearms,  and  with  stones  which  the 


HERMIT  NO  MORE. 


225 


reaching  Chimul-po  on  the  17th,  the  Ossi- 
pee  arriving  on  the  22d.  They  found  two 
British,  four  Chinese  and  two  Japanese 
vessels  of  war  in  the  offing. 

During  the  disturbances  in  Seoul  our 
minister  had  remained  at  the  legation,  which 
was  crowded  with  the  foreign  representatives 
and  Corean,  Japanese  and  Chinese  refugees. 
No  attempt  was  made  to  injure  them.  The 
American  building  was  not  attacked,  and  the 
flag  was  kept  flying  all  the  time  No  harm 

muscular  ruffians  hurled  with  peculiar  skill,  the  rioters  kept 
up  their  attacks.  They  were  unable  to  fire  the  buildings  or 
force  an  entrance,  but  a number  of  Japanese  men,  women  and 
children,  were  killed  in  the  streets.  At  4 p.  M.  on  the  7th,  the 
Japanese  evacuated  the  place.  With  the  non-combatants,  work- 
men and  their  families,  in  the  centre  and  the  military  on  the 
outside,  they  fought  their  way  to  the  city-gate.  This  was  locked, 
but  the  carpenters  with  hammers  and  axes  quickly  demolished 
it.  Their  path  was  now  partially  lighted  by  the  flame  of  the 
burning  buildings  at  and  near  the  legation.  Repeatedly  attacked 
by  the  mob,  the  steady  volleys  of  the  little  band  scattered  their 
assailants,  and  slowly  and  painfully  inarched  to  Chimul-po,  hav- 
ing lost  in  all  twenty-four  of  their  number.  In  the  straits 
of  hunger  they  were  fed  by  the  sailors  of  the  men-of-war  in 
the  harbor.  The  Japanese  steamer  Chitos6  Maru  was  char- 
tered to  convey  the  news  to  Nagasaki,  whence  it  was  flashed  to 
Tokio.  A cabinet  meeting  was  quickly  called,  fresh  stores  of 
clothing  and  provisions,  with  new  troops,  were  despatched  to 
Chimul-po,  while  Inouye  Kaoru,  the  Mikado’s  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  proceeded  to  Corea  for  diplomatic  conference. 

15 


226 


COREA. 


was  intended  to  other  foreigners  of  any 
nationality,  but  only  against  the  Japanese. 
In  the  beginning  the  affair  was  an  anti- 
Chinese  uprising  of  radical  Progressives. 
After  the  Japanese  were  driven  from  the 
palace  and  the  tide  turned,  the  riot  was  an 
anti- Japanese  demonstration.  Lieutenant 
Foulk,  who  was  at  the  time  in  the  interior, 
was  taken  for  a Japanese,  and  had  to  flee 
for  his  life.  When,  however,  within  a few 
miles  of  Seoul,  he  was  met  by  messengers 
from  the  king,  who  escorted  him  in  safety 
to  Seoul,  in  which  the  only  foreign  flag  left 
flying  was  that  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 
The  foreigners  left  Seoul  and  returned  to 
Chimul-po.  Here  for  a short  time,  until  the 
Chinese  and  Japanese  should  have  settled 
their  diff  mlties,  the  foreigners  with  their 
ships,  sailors,  marines,  military  and  trading 
establishments,  made  the  sandy  beach  blos- 
som into  a city. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


NATURAL  PRODUCTS  FOR  FOOD,  CLOTHING 
AND  COMMERCE. 

SPHERE  has  been  little  to  encourage  the 
A merchant  or  to  develop  trade  in  Co- 
rea since  the  Middle  Ages.  In  the  first 
place,  the  merchant  ranks  in  the  lowest  of 
the  four  social  classes.  He  is,  as  a rule, 
treated  with  the  same  contempt  as  was 
shown  to  his  confrere  in  the  days  of  feudal 
Japan.  Though  the  people  of  Corea  really 
desire  trade,  the  jealousy  of  the  official  class, 
who  dread  any  possibility  of  the  elevation 
of  the  lower  classes,  has  always  operated  to 
hamper  commerce. 

Shops  or  stores  are  not  very  numerous. 
Villages  and  small  towns  do  not  enjoy  them, 
and  only  in  the  large  cities  can  they  be 
found.  Seoul  and  Sunto  are  the  largest 
commercial  cities  and  most  noted  for  trade. 
In  place  of  shops  are  markets  held  at  in- 

227 


228 


COREA. 


tervals  of  every  few  days,  the  particular 
times  varying  in  different  places.  The  most 
common  are  those  held  on  the  “ first  and  sev- 
enth ’’  and  the  “ fourth  and  ninth  ” days  of  the 
month  ; that  is,  the  first,  seventh,  fourteenth, 
twenty-first  and  twenty-eighth,  and  the 
fourth,  ninth,  fourteenth,  nineteenth,  twenty- 
fourth  and  twenty-ninth.  Formerly,  there 
was  considerable  junk-traffic  with  Japan. 
The  sea-trade  with  China  was  carried  on  in 
a surreptitious  manner  by  means  of  the 
smugglers  who  came  on  the  fishing-boats 
off  Whanghai  province. 

On  the  frontier  two  great  fairs  were  semi- 
annually held  at  Kion-wen  in  the  north, 
and  at  the  Border-Gate,  near  Fung- whang, 
over  the  frontier  on  the  west.  At  these 
places  Chinese,  Manchurian,  Russian  and 
a few  European  products  were  exchanged 
for  those  of  Corea. 

Another  important  outlet  of  trade  was 
through  the  embassy  to  China  every  year. 
This  nominal  “ embassy  ” was  in  reality  a 
guild  of  merchants  surrounding  an  ambas- 
sador. The  official  nucleus  carried  an  enor- 
mous tail  of  traders  in  its  annual  orbit  and 


boo  ''Suj  o}  AKsnqur.i  UBajo; 


NATURAL  PRODUCTS  FOR  FOOD,  ETC.  229 

revolution  about  the  imperial  palace  in  Pe- 
king. The  “ tribute  ” paid  by  the  Corean 
government  was  doubtless  levied  largely 
from  the  merchants,  who  were  allowed  to 
follow  the  envoys  by  purchasing  the  priv- 
ilege. The  “ tribute  ” was  but  a percentage 
allowed  to  the  imperial  government  for  the 
privilege  of  trade  in  Peking  and  the  towns 
on  the  route.  From  two  hundred  to  four 
hundred  persons  made  up  the  motley  train. 
They  traveled  in  carts,  and  occupied  three 
months  in  the  round  trip.  They  brought 
to  China  oiled-paper  fans,  five  grades  of  cot- 
ton and  bamboo  paper,  gold-dust,  silver,  gin- 
seng, furs,  cotton  cloth  and  tobacco.  They 
took  back  to  Corea  porcelain,  silk,  satin, 
books  and  foreign  goods. 

The  merchants  were  not  slow  to  improve 
any  opportunity  to  turn  an  honest  or  dis- 
honest penny.  A few  years  ago  they  bought 
up  large  quantities  of  copper  cash  at  Liao- 
yang  on  their  way  home.  Chinese  cash  are 
worth  three  times  more  as  copper  bullion 
than  as  money.  The  Coreans  melted  down 
the  coins,  made  them  into  copper  vessels, 
and  on  their  return  to  Peking  sold  them  at 


2-30 


COREA. 


a handsome  profit.  This  lucrative  business 
was  only  stopped  after  the  Corean  king, 
warned  by  the  imperial  authorities,  forbade 
the  trade  on  pain  of  decapitation.  The 
north-east  gate  of  Liao-yang  is  called  the 
Corean  Gate,  as  the  caravan-road  leads  out 
from  it  to  Ai-chiu. 

The  opening  of  Cho-sen  to  Chinese  as 
well  as  to  American  and  European  trade 
will  no  doubt  put  an  end  to  the  regular 
annual  embassy  from  Seoul,  which  has  been 
the  fixed  custom  of  centuries.  Most  for- 
eigners in  Peking,  since  legations  were  estab- 
lished in  1860,  have  seen  the  white-clothed 
people  of  the  eastern  kingdom.  The  em- 
bassy consisted  of  about  ten  officers,  three 
of  whom  were  of  the  first  rank.  With  them 
came  about  one  hundred  pages,  servants  and 
carters.  Though  the  Chinese  gave  them  a 
bad  name  for  fierceness  and  inhospitality, 
yet  foreign  visitors  at  their  quarters  were 
always  courteously  received.  Their  hats, 
long  pipes  and  topknots  made  them  con- 
spicuous objects  of  interest  on  the  streets 
of  the  Chinese  capital.  Mr.  W.  F.  May- 
ers says : “ Their  chief  fault  is  rather  an 


NATURAL  PRODUCTS  FOR  FOOD,  ETC.  231 

inexhaustible  curiosity  if  once  introduced 
into  foreign  quarters,  and  a child-like 
way  of  asking  for  whatever  takes  their 
fancy.” 

The  caravan  usually  arrived  in  Novem- 
ber, and  both  merchants  and  officials  spent 
the  whole  winter  in  Peking,  setting  out  on 
their  return  toward  the  end  of  February  or 
early  in  March.  As  we  have  seen,  the  finest 
commercial  buildings  in  Seoul  belong  to  the 
merchants  who  control  this  overland  trade 
to  Peking. 

Of  edible  grains,  rice  and  millet  are  the 
staples,  though  others  are  used  in  less  quan- 
tities, especially  wheat  and  rye.  Peas  and  a 
great  variety  of  leguminous  plants  are  cul- 
tivated. Of  roots,  the  famous  long  silver- 
white  radish,  called  in  Japanese  dai-kon,  is 
the  most  generally  eaten.  A few  sweet 
potatoes  and  the  common  white  tuber  are 
cultivated,  rather  by  stealth,  the  French 
nnssi(  naries  reporting  that  the  culture  is 
interdicted  by  law.  Dr.  Frank  Cowan  no- 
tices a mountain-potato,  growing  wild,  which 
attains  an  average  length  of  two  inches  and 
has  a faint  yellow  tinge  and  an  agreeable 


232 


COREA. 


flavor.  The  rice  exported  to  Japan  was 
also  pronounced  by  epicures  to  be  superior 
to  the  best  Chinese.  According  to  treaty 
stipulations,  the  king  may  forbid  its  export 
in  times  of  scarcity  of  food.  Tea  is  not 
drunk  as  a common  beverage,  the  people 
instead  of  it  making  use  of  rice-water  and 
infusions  of  ginger  and  orange-peel.  The 
tea-plant  seems  to  grow  wild  and  unappre- 
ciated. The  bamboo,  with  its  manifold  pos- 
sibilities of  adaptation,  grows  in  wild  luxu- 
riance, and  is  also  cultivated  for  its  beauty. 
The  lotus  furnishes  flowers,  ornamentation 
and  edible  roots.  Of  fruits,  the  grape,  straw- 
berry, plum,  peach,  apricot,  persimmon,  ap- 
ple and  pear  are  known  and  used,  but  are 
yet  at  rather  an  imperfect  standard  of  cul- 
tivation. Our  garden- vegetables  are  rare. 

For  seasoning  the  natives  use  mustard  and 
pepper  in  abundance,  outdoing  even  the 
Mexicans  and  American  Spaniards  in  their 
taste  for  hot  things.  Cayenne  pepper  is  the 
favorite  condiment,  and  the  planting  and 
care  of  chilli,  as  the  cayenne  pepper-pods 
are  called,  are  general.  Both  in  its  red 
and  green  state  this  pungent  vegetable  is 


NATURAL  PRODUCTS  FOR  FOOD,  ETC.  233 

enjoyed,  and  what  a Corean  lacks  in  rice 
or  fish  he  makes  lip  in  pepper. 

At  a dinner  given  to  the  Japanese  treaty 
commissioners  in  1876  the  guests  were  treat- 
ed to  the  following : Boiled  pork  with  rice- 
wine,  macaroni  soup,  chicken  with  millet- 
wine,  boiled  eggs,  pat  try,  Hour,  sesame  and 
honey  pudding,  dried  persimmons  and  roast- 
ed rice  with  honey.  Other  known  articles 
in  bills  of  fare  are  taro  (egg-shaped  potato), 
lily-bulbs,  seaweed  and  various  messes  as 
unknown  in  their  composition  to  us  as  some 
of  our  concoctions  are  to  Coreans. 

Of  animal  products,  the  most  valuable 
are  the  horses  and  the  cattle.  The  south- 
ern provinces  are  especially  noted  for  their 
abundance  in  this  respect,  the  horses  being 
larger  in  size  and  less  thick-set  than  in  the 
north.  A large  proportion  of  the  exports 
to  Japan  consists  of  the  hides,  bones  and 
fat  of  oxen.  The  modern  introduction  into 
Japan  of  the  fashion  of  wearing  shoes  and 
buttons,  and  of  using  soap  and  other  chem- 
ical compounds  requiring  flits  for  their  man- 
ufacture, has  created  a market  for  these 
products.  The  great  demand  for  beef  food 


234 


COREA. 


in  the  countries  adjacent  to  the  Western 
Pacific,  caused  by  the  presence  of  Euro- 
peans and  the  increasing  practice  of  eating 
animal  food  in  Japan,  will  create  a market 
for  beef  which  Cho-sen  can  supply,  and 
thus  enable  her  to  pay  for  foreign  imports. 
The  Coreans  are  meat-eaters  to  a far  great- 
er degree  than  the  Japanese.  The  proportion 
of  beef  cattle  to  the  population  is  not  known, 
but  is  probably  greater  than  in  Japan,  where 
it  is  two  oxen  to  every  hundred  persons,  as 
against  seventy-three  to  every  hundred  in 
the  United  States.  The  horses  are  of  a 
stunted  breed,  especially  in  the  north,  where 
the  piebald  ponies  are  among  the  striking 
features  of  out-door  life.  Hogs,  both  do- 
mestic and  wild,  are  sufficiently  numerous ; 
they  are  used  both  for  food  and  sacrifice. 
Deer  are  abundant  in  the  mountainous  re- 
gions, especially  in  the  province  of  Kang- 
wen.  Sheep  and  goats  seem  to  be  the  prop- 
erty exclusively  of  the  royal  family,  and 
are  reared  for  sacrificial  purposes  only. 
Dogs  are  reared  in  droves.  Though  their 
flesh  forms  a staple  article  of  diet  among 
the  humble  classes,  they  can  hardly  be 


NATURAL  PRODUCTS  FOR  FOOD,  ETC.  235 

looked  upon,  from  a Western  point  of 
view,  as  forming  part  of  a country’s  edible 
resources. 

The  crop  of  furs  is  by  no  means  insignif- 
icant, the  tiger  leading  all  other  wild  ani- 
mals in  the  value  of  his  carcase.  Prob- 
ably a thousand  tiger-skins  may  be  obtained 
every  year.  Bears  are  said  to  be  numerous. 
The  leopard,  fox,  marten,  otter,  wolf,  bear, 
sable,  badger  and  a variety  of  forest  crea- 
tures help  to  swell  the  total  of  fur-produc- 
tion. 

The  smallest  of  the  useful  animals  is  the 
most  valuable.  The  Corean  silkworm  sup- 
plies a quality  of  raw  fibre  that  is  tough, 
glossy  and  possessed  of  peculiar  properties 
which  make  it  much  sought  after.  The 
thirty  thousand  dollars’  worth  of  raw  silk 
from  the  southern  provinces  exported  in 
1880  is  only  the  beginning  of  a growing 
trade  in  this  commodity.  Naturally,  Corea 
belongs  in  the  list  of  great  silk-producers, 
like  China,  Japan,  Italy  and  India.  The 
harvest  of  the  sea  is  not  the  least  of  the 
wealth  of  Corea.  The  pearl-fisheries,  though 
long  neglected,  are  not  yet  exhausted.  A 


236 


COREA. 


large  item  of  exports  is  that  of  dried  beche- 
de-mer,  or  “ sea-ear,”  and  various  kinds  of 
seaweed,  shark-fins,  dried  sardines  and  shell 
for  inlaying  find  an  easy  market  in  both 
of  the  adjoining  countries.  Various  other 
products  of  the  fisheries  in  the  raw  and  im- 
proved state  are  noted  in  the  published  list 
of  exports. 

A kind  of  streaked  fish,  caught  in  the 
sea  off  Ham-kiung,  and  noticed  by  Chinese 
writers  in  the  third  century,  is  still  a plen- 
tiful delicacy.  The  “ silver-mouth  ” is  a 
favorite  river-fish.  Salmon  abound  in  some 
of  the  northern  rivers ; great  numbers  of 
them,  when  stranded  on  account  of  their 
multitude,  furnishing  food  to  the  bears.  On 
the  west  coast  the  variety,  beauty  and  abun- 
dance of  the  various  finny  tribes  are  the 
themes  of  naturalists. 

Though  lovers  of  science  who  have  ram- 
bled on  the  shore,  scoop-net  in  hand,  revel 
in  the  description  of  the  wonders  of  insect 
and  reptile  life,  these  have  little  or  no  com- 
mercial importance.  Perhaps  also,  speaking 
from  an  alien’s  point  of  view,  the  same  may 
be  said  of  the  interesting  variety  of  birds 


NATURAL  PRODUCTS  FOR  FOOD,  ETC.  237 

which  make  their  home  in  the  peninsula, 
from  the  “ hens  with  tails  three  feet  long  ” 
(pheasants)  and  the  falcons,  eagles  and 
storks,  to  the  little  house-pets  and  the  javs 
that  build  in  the  willows  near  human  habi- 
tations. Eagle,  pheasant  and  falcon  feath- 
ers are  bought  up  by  the  Japanese  mer- 
chants, who  probably  send  them  to  Europe 
or  America,  where  they  supply  the  ruling 
fashion  in  feminine  head-decorations.  From 
ancient  times  the  birds  sent  as  presents  to 
Japanese  dignitaries  have  called  forth  their 
admiration.  Even  in  human  hair  the  buv- 

J 

ers  of  European  markets  now  rival  the 
Chinese  merchants  in  the  purchase  of  the 
long  tresses  of  the  Coreans. 

In  the  solider  resources  furnished  by  the 
vegetable  kingdom  Corea  is  opulent.  In 
China  the  fame  of  Corean  timber  has  from 
ancient  times  been  great  in  temple,  in  pal- 
ace, in  ship-yards  and  in  wheelwright-shops. 
Some  of  the  finest  species  of  forest,  shade 
and  fruit  trees,  as  well  as  of  plants  and  veg- 
etables, in  Japan,  are  known  to  have  been 
brought  by  human  agency  from  the  penin- 
sula. Susanob,  one  of  the  legendary  civil- 


238 


COREA. 


izers  of  the  country,  is  also  reputed  to  have 
brought  the  seeds  of  Japanese  trees  from 
Corea.  In  and  around  Kioto  and  at  other 
places  in  Japan  parts  of  temples  and  refecto- 
ries, especially  ceilings,  are  of  Corean  wood. 

With  China  a bustling  trade  in  timber 
was  formerly  carried  on,  and  still  exists  in 
a hampered  condition.  The  magnificent 
pine  forests  of  the  western  coast  furnished 
employment  for  many  thousand  natives,  who 
loaded  the  junks  plying  to  Chefu  and  Taku, 
near  Tientsin,  bringing  back  Chinese  prod- 
ucts. Many  of  the  imposing  columns  in 
the  great  temples  at  Peking  once  stood  on 
the  mountains  of  Cho-sen.  The  same  wood 
is  largely  used  in  the  Chinese  works  of 
irrigation,  in  the  Hoang-ho  embankments 
and  for  special  parts  of  wagons,  boats  and 
ships.  Quelpaert  produces  a very  red  and 
a very  black  timber  which  are  famous.  A 
kind  of  oak  which  can  remain  under  water 
for  a hundred  years  without  decaying  is  well 
known.  A writer  in  the  Japan  Mail  states 
that  Corean  timber  is  in  constant  demand 
for  the  public  works  on  the  Pei-ho  and  Peh- 
tang-ho  rivers  in  China  and  on  the  Grand 


NATURAL  PRODUCTS  FOR  FOOD,  ETC.  239 

Canal.  The  cart-shafts,  dray-poles  and 
axletrees  of  North  China  are  mostly  made 
from  the  ash,  elm,  hornbeam  and  other  hard 
timbers  cut  in  Corea,  as  well  as  large  masts 
and  spars  and  the  flag-poles  for  mandarins’ 
offices.  One  cause  of  the  local  famines  that 
sometimes  rage  is  the  loss  of  timber,  which 
in  st)me  districts  has  been  allowed  to  go  on 
to  a wasteful  degree.  In  Seoul  wood  for 
fuel  is  comparatively  scarce.  It  is  sold  in 
little  packets  at  a nip,  or  one  cash,  each. 
The  Coreans  seem  to  be  acquainted  with  no 
other  fuel,  so  that  near  large  cities  timber 
often  becomes  a scarce  article. 

The  larch  and  willow  are  found  every- 
where. The  bamboo,  which  is  used  for  a 
vast  number  of  beneficial  and  ornamental 
purposes,  is  prolific.  Pine,  oak,  maple, 
mulberry,  juniper,  persimmon  and  many 
other  less-known  timber  trees  abound  in 
this  well-forested  country.  The  cork  tree 
grows  on  both  coasts,  the  value  of  its  bark 
being  apparently  unknown.  Another,  the 
varnish  tree,  yields  the  sap  from  which  the 
natives  produce  the  golden-tinted  lacquer 
which  nearly  resembles  gilding,  and  which, 


240 


COREA. 


like  the  Japanese  urushi,  poisons  the  skin. 
The  “ rat-dung  tree  ” furnishes  the  substance 
from  which  white  wax  is  produced.  From 
another  tree  they  produce  oil  for  women’s 
hair,  or  make  an  infusion  from  its  wood 
which  when  drunk  tastes  like  ginger.  The 
flora  of  Corea,  like  that  of  Japan,  so  far  as 
studied,  greatly  resembles  (as  does  also  its 
conchology)  that  of  the  eastern  or  Atlantic 
coast  of  the  United  States.  It  has  been  great- 
ly influenced  by  the  currents,  both  polar  and 
tropical,  which  play  round  the  long  coast- 
line. In  a walk  one  traveler  noticed  rhodo- 
dendrons, azaleas,  myrtles,  mallows,  sages, 
asters,  hypericums  and  hundreds  of  other 
flowers  familiar  in  Europe  and  America. 
Arthur  Adams,  in  the  Voyage  of  H M.  S. 
Samarang  and  in  Travels  of  a Naturalist  in 
Japan  and  Manchuria , has  described  these 
with  accuracy  and  enthusiasm.  The  pu- 
yang,  or  water-lily,  is  a great  favorite  with 
the  people,  who  cultivate  it  in  garden-ponds. 
It  is  said  to  change  its  color  three  times  a 
day. 

The  most  valuable  vegetable  products  of 
a commercial  nature  are  cotton,  tobacco, 


NATURAL  PRODUCTS  FOR  FOOD,  ETC.  241 

hemp,  flax,  indigo,  paper,  ginseng  and  varnish. 
The  cotton  of  the  peninsula  has  the  long  and 
fine  silky  fibre  so  much  esteemed  among 
cotton-spinners.  It  is  nearly  equal  to  the 
valuable  sea-island  staple  of  South  Caro- 
lina. From  it  the  famous  long-fibred  and 
cloth-like  paper  of  Corea  is  made,  which 
is  so  thick,  tough  and  durable  that  Chinese 
tailors  use  it  as  a lining  for  winter  coats. 
Paper  is  also  employed  for  money,  strings, 
towels,  waterproof  garments,  table-cloths, 
hats,  windows,  partitions  and  other  strange 
purposes,  in  lieu  of  india-rubber,  leather, 
woolens,  metal  or  wood.  The  thick  and 
fibrous  product,  which  is  made  either  from 
the  mulberry-bark,  cut  every  year  from  the 
trees  planted  for  this  purpose,  or  of  cotton 
and  rag  stock,  is  so  wTell  glazed,  and  at  the 
same  time  so  flexible,  that  it  may  easily  be 
mistaken  for  oiled  silk.  It  is  in  common 
use  for  table-cloths,  as  it  is  easily  cleansed. 
The  process  is  substantially  that  of  an  Amer- 
ican inventor,  who  has  discovered  and  recent- 
ly patented  the  process  of  making  paper  pos- 
sess many  of  the  properties  of  leather.  This 
is  done  by  a solution  of  a gelatinous  seaweed, 
16 


242 


COREA. 


one  of  the  algae.  The  finest  grade  of  this 
glazed  paper  is  used  for  making  the  large 
hats  of  the  magistrates. 

Ginseng,  though  not  as  fine  as  the  wild 
root  of  Manchuria,  is  in  much  demand  for 
the  Chinese  market.  The  reddish  appear- 
ance which  is  believed  to  add  value  to  the 
root  is  duly  put  on  at  the  po-so,  or  factory, 
where  the  Coreans  “ manipulate  ” ginseng 
as  certain  Christians  do  tea  and  coffee  for 
the  American  market. 

The  numerous  lacquers,  varnishes  and  oils 
made  are  consumed  in  the  native  arts,  but 
the  herbs  and  medicines  peculiar  to  Chd-sen 
rarely  become  “ drugs  ” in  the  markets  of 
China  and  Japan. 

There  is  an  unusual  variety  of  tam-pai, 
as  the  natives  call  tobacco,  for  so  small  a 
country,  and  a correspondingly  luxuriant 
vocabulary  is  devoted  to  the  various  brands 
of  “ green,”  “ dry,”  “ mountain,”  “ plain,” 
“ river-flat,”  “ wind-dried,”  “ sun-dried,” 
“ fine-cut  ” and  others  best  appreciated  by 
a smoker.  A variety  of  flavors  seems  to 
have  been  obtained  by  careful  cultivation 
of  the  plant.  The  natives  are  inveterate 


NATURAL  PRODUCTS  FOR  FOOD,  ETC.  243 

smokers,  or  in  the  native  idiom  “ drinkers,” 
and  a pipe-case  and  tobacco-pouch  are  parts 
of  the  national  costume.  Tobacco-dealers 
in  America  may  yet  discover  special  desir- 
able qualities  in  Corean,  as  they  have  in 
Japanese,  tobacco,  making  it  an  article  of 
demand  abroad. 

With  respect  to  mineral  wealth,  all  signs 
point  to  the  unusual  richness  of  Corean  nat- 
ural deposits.  From  ancient  times  the  most 
precious  metal  in  nuggets,  sheets  and  dust 
has  been  imported  to  China  and  Japan.  In 
the  Middle  Ages  it  attracted  even  the  Arabs, 
who  sailed  the  China  seas,  imported  gold 
from  Shin-ra,  and  perhaps  also  coined  it 
at  Bagdad.  The  prophecy  of  Dr.  Frank 
Cowan,  the  American  visitor  at  Gensan  in 
1881,  is  well  known  : “ With  respect  to  gold, 
I am  of  the  opinion  that  next  of  the  coun- 
tries on  the  golden  rim  of  the  Pacific,  after 
Peru,  California  and  Australia,  to  disturb 
the  monetary  equilibrium  of  the  world,  will 
be  Corea.  From  Fusan  to  Genzanshin 
[Wen-shan],  a distance  of  three  hundred 
and  ten  miles,  the  geologic  structure  is  not 
incompatible  with  the  theory  that  the  whole 


244 


COREA. 


region  is  productive  of  the  precious  metal.” 
The  Japanese  mention  Sho-gen,  Shitsugen 
and  Kinkai  in  Kiung-sang  province,  and 
Tansen  and  Kanko  in  Ham-kiung,  as  places 
in  which  gold  is  found. 

Gold-mining  seems  to  be  forbidden  by  the 
government,  or,  at  any  rate,  the  policy  of 
the  rulers  has  resembled  that  of  the  dog  in 
the  manger ; yet  gold-dust  seems  to  be  ob- 
tained from  all  points  of  the  compass.  Most 
of  that  exported  is  probably  from  surface- 
washings.  The  future,  with  scientific  min- 
ing, can  alone  solve  this  problem. 

Silver  is  abundantly  used  for  women’s 
rings  and  ornaments,  officials’  badges,  dec- 
orations and  fine  utensils.  Several  silver- 
mines  are  worked  in  the  southern  provinces. 
Yet  the  only  coins  of  the  country  until  1883 
were  of  iron  and  copper,  or  of  an  alloy  of  tin 
and  zinc.  Paclc-fong,  the  white  metal  used 
for  pipes,  cups,  pots  and  other  utensils,  is  a 
composition  of  zinc,  copper  and  silver.  Cop- 
per is  imported  from  Japan,  though  the  native 
metal  lies  under  the  hills.  Lead  is  common, 
and  coal  has  been  found  by  the  Japanese. 

In  general  terms,  it  may  be  said  that  Co- 


NATURAL  PRODUCTS  FOR  FOOD,  ETC.  245 

rea  is  a poor  country,  with  comparatively 
little  accumulated  wealth.  Its  natural  re- 
sources, however,  are  good.  Once  blessed 
with  improved  government  and  enlightened 
ideas  on  social  and  political  economy,  the 
little  nation  may  yet  become  wealthy,  and 
her  people  individually  share  the  measure 
of  comfort  usual  to  prosperous  nations  in 
Christendom. 

The  sumptuary  laws  of  heathen  nations 
are,  as  a rule,  radically  distinct  from  those 
of  Christian  countries.  In  our  land  espe- 
cially a man  who  has  earned  money  may 
spend  it  almost  entirely  as  he  pleases.  In 
Corea  and  India,  as  in  Old  Japan  and  most 
Eastern  countries,  the  successful  merchant 
or  diligent  mechanic  cannot  do  this.  The 
size  and  style  of  his  house,  the  cut  of  his 
clothes,  and  public  privileges  and  customs, 
such  as  riding  a horse,  taking  pleasure  in 
vehicles  or  boats,  are  usually  regulated,  and 
often  curtailed,  by  law.  Hence  there  is  far 
less  motive  for  diligence,  steady  persever- 
ance and  business  enterprise. 

Gutzlaff  well  says  of  the  Corean  common 
people:  “We  cannot  charge  them  with  lazi- 


246 


COREA. 


ness,  but  we  fear  they  want  the  necessary 
stimulus  to  exertion.  Government  does 
not  permit  them  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their 
labors ; they  are  therefore  indifferent  to  the 
possession  of  anything  beyond  the  necessa- 
ries of  life.  Would  their  present  state  have 
been  what  it  is  had  they  been  allowed  inter- 
course with  foreigners?  . . . Walking  over 
these  fertile  islands,  beholding  the  most  beau- 
tiful flowers  everywhere  growing  wild, and  the 
vine  creeping  among  weeds  and  bushes,  we 
accuse  the  ‘ lord  of  nature,’  man,  of  shame- 
ful neglect ; for  he  could  have  changed  this 
wilderness  into  an  Eden.  Let  the  gospel 
penetrate  into  these  regions,  and,  as  far  it  is 
accepted  in  truth,  misery  will  cease.”  These 
words,  in  prophecy  and  in  fact,  are  as  true 
in  1885  as  in  1832. 

It  is  to  the  honor  of  the  United  States 
envoy,  Commodore  Shufeldt,  that  he,  after 
much  patience,  succeeded  in  convincing  the 
Coreans  that  their  country  is  capable  of 
absorbing  a large  foreign  trade,  and  from 
her  own  resources  of  contributing  greatly  to 
the  comfort  of  the  world  beyond  her  bor- 
ders. Corea  now  acknowledges  this  com* 


NATURAL  PRODUCTS  FOR  FOOD,  ETC.  247 

mercial  truth  “ with  the  enthusiasm  that 
invariably  follows  conversion  from  incre- 
dulity.” " 

On  the  other  hand,  American  merchants, 
if  they  push  their  way  with  energy,  will  cer- 
tainly find  a market  for  the  cotton  goods, 
hardware,  machinery  and  petroleum  of  our 
country.  Already  American  clocks,  watches, 
lamps  and  “ notions  ” are  beginning  to  be 
familiar  among  the  once  “ hermits.”  The 
Coreans  have,  since  the  writing  of  this  book 
commenced,  ordered  from  their  new  treaty- 
friends  in  America  carpets,  printing-presses, 
photographic  and  chemical  apparatus,  breech- 
loading rifles  and  Gatling  guns.  Finally,  the 
royal  palace  and  grounds  at  Seoul  are  to  be 
illuminated  with  Edison’s  electric  lights. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


COREAN  ART,  PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

rilHE  art  and  art-industries  of  a nation  are 
not  simply  the  expression  of  fancy  and 
the  production  of  pretty  things.  Art  is 
rather  one  of  the  many  expressions  of  na- 
tional mind  and  character,  and  the  history 
of  art  in  any  country  is  a history  of  what 
the  people  living  in  it  have  produced  in 
times  of  peace.  From  this  point  of  view 
Corean  art  is  worthy  of  notice,  even  by  the 
general  reader.  We  propose  to  glance  at 
its  past  and  present  and  its  connection  with 
that  of  China  and  Japan. 

The  art  of  the  peninsula  is  a link  in  the 
chain  between  that  of  the  mainland  and  the 
island  empire,  and  is  the  ancestor  of  that  of 
the  Japanese.  It  had  a life  and  develop- 
ment distinctively  its  own.  Its  masterpieces 
are  numerous  in  the  temples,  museums  and 
collections  of  private  individuals  in  Japan, 

248 


CORE  AN  ART,  PAST  AND  PRESENT.  249 

and  from  these  we  have  studied  some  of  its 
characteristics. 

In  ancient  times  Shin-ra  sent  freely  to 
Yamato1  her  artistic  treasures,  artificers  and 
artists.  The  earliest  traditions  of  intercourse 
between  the  two  countries  refer  to  the  spoils, 
in  the  form  of  works  of  price  and  skill, 
whose  decoration  and  mechanism  were  the 
wonder  and  admiration  of  the  Japanese. 
According  to  tradition,  eighty  ships  laden 
with  spoils  taken  by  the  queen  Jingu,  in 
the  third  century,  contained  many  treasures 
in  the  form  of  cut  and  polished  jewels,  silk- 
en fabrics,  pictures,  faience  and  inlaid  weap- 
ons and  armor.  In  later  reigns  there  are 
numerous  entries  in  the  chronicles  of  Japan 
announcing  the  arrival  from  Corea  of  skilled 
artisans,  both  male  and  female,  artists,  de- 
signers and  decorators,  as  well  as  scholars, 
teachers,  astronomers,  priests  and  physicians. 
The  guild  of  costumers  sent  over  a society 
of  dressmakers  and  flower-weaving  girls. 
Again,  “ a family  of  seventeen  hats,”  under 
which  were  persons  of  skill,  is  noted  as 
coming.  Occasional  notices  of  such  immi- 


1 The  ancient  name  of  Japan. 


250 


COREA. 


grations  from  Sliin-ra  and  Ko-rai  to  Japan 
occur  also  throughout  the  later  Middle 
Ages. 

After  the  Japanese  invasion  of  1592-97, 
besides  whole  fleets  laden  with  spoil,  seve- 
ral colonies  of  potters  and  porcelain-makers 
were  brought  over  and  settled  in  Hizen  and 
Satsuma,  and  at  Agano  in  Buzen,  Yatsushiro 
in  Higo,  and  in  the  village  near  Hagi,  in 
Cho-shiu.  These  “ Corean  villages  ” in  Ja- 
pan are  as  well  known  as  the  Huguenot  set- 
tlements in  England  and  Holland.  It  was 
mainly  under  their  skillful  hands,  aided  by 
the  native  artists,  that  the  faience  of  Satsu- 
ma  and  the  porcelain  of  Imari  gained  their 
renown  throughout  the  world.  Indeed,  to 
the  student  of  the  art  of  Cho-sen,  that  of 
the  Japanese  seems  far  less  original  than 
before  his  acquaintance  with  the  products 
of  this  once-hidden  land. 

The  existence  of  any  special  traits  or 
principles  of  decoration,  or  a peculiar  set 
of  symbols  in  Corean  art,  has  been  thus 
far  hardly  known.  When  fully  studied, 
these  will  greatly  modify  our  ideas  of  Ori- 
ental art,  and  especially  of  the  originality 


COREAN  ART,  PAST  AND  PRESENT.  251 

of  the  Japanese  designers.  Corea  was  not 
only  the  road  by  which  the  art  of  China 
reached  Japan,  but  it  is  the  original  home 
of  many  of  the  art-ideas  wdiich  the  world 
believes  to  be  purely  Japanese. 

The  revelations  of  Kurium  and  the  Cyp- 
riote treasures  supplied  the  missing  link 
between  Egypt  and  Greece.  Corea  is  the 
Cyprus  of  the  Far  East,  between  the  vast 
and  ancient  China  and  the  newer  and  more 
graceful  Japan.  The  parallel  which  likens 
Egypt  to  China,  Japan  to  Greece,  and  Co- 
rea to  Cyprus  might  easily  receive  further 
illustration  from  their  history  and  policy. 

While  we  accord  to  the  Japanese  the  meed 
of  praise  wdiich  their  lively  fancy  and  dec- 
orative skill  have  won  among  the  refined 
nations  of  the  Western  World,  yet  truth 
compels  us  to  state  that  to  the  ancient  Co- 
reans  are  due  the  first  principles,  and  much 
of  actual  models  and  achievement,  of  which 
Japanese  art  is  but  the  copy  or  develop- 
ment. Indeed,  it  may  be  seriously  believed, 
without  going  very  far  afield,  that  after  the 
decay  of  Buddhism,  and  the  rise  even  to  big- 
otry of  the  Chinese  ethics,  the  chief  cause  of 


252 


COREA. 


Corea’s  decay  in  art  was  the  sending  of  her 
artisans  so  freely  to  the  Japanese  archipel- 
ago. Like  the  Huguenot  skill  that  enriched 
other  countries  to  the  loss  and  detriment  of 
France,  the  Corean  emigration  eastward  of 
skill  and  artistic  resources  became  the  true 
sunrise  of  art  in  the  Mikado’s  empire.1 

As  one  looks  upon  Corean  art-works,  and 
compares  them  with  the  products  of  Persian 
and  Arab  skill,  there  seems  to  be  an  unmis- 
takable flavor  of  the  former  in  the  latter. 
One  asks,  as  we  have  often  asked  in  Japan 
while  studying  Corean  artistic  products,  Did 
not  one  learn  from  the  other  ? Did  the  Per- 
sians instruct  the  Chinese,  Coreans  and  Jap- 
anese, or  did  the  knowledge  of  art  flow  from 
the  East  westward  ? Were  the  East  and  the 
West  equally  original,  and  did  they  work 
unconsciously  in  the  same  groove,  or  did  one 
borrow  from  the  other?  Are  the  resem- 
blances between  the  art-works  of  Persia 
and  Corea  and  Japan  real,  or  they  acci- 
dental ? 

1 In  the  Century  magazine  for  November,  1882,  this  subject 
has  received  fuller  treatment  in  a paper  by  the  writer  under 
the  title  “The  Corean  Origin  of  Japanese  Art.” 


CO  RE  AN  ART,  PAST  AND  PRESENT.  253 

Fortunately,  we  have  some  clue  to  find 
our  way  to  the  truth.  It  has  been  shown1 
that  the  Persians  and  Coreans  had  commu- 
nication with  each  other — that  they  met  face 
to  face  at  the  court  of  the  Chinese  emperor 
at  Nanking.  In  all  probability,  they  ex- 
changed presents,  and  it  may  be  sent  skilled 
men  to  gain  knowledge  and  practice  one  of 
the  other.  We  know  from  the  Persian  poet 
(in  Saadi’s  Gulistan)  of  his  typical  merchant 
— one  among  many — who  with  a hundred 
camels  laden  with  merchandise,  and  who 
had  forty  slaves  in  his  employ,  intended 
“to  take  brimstone  to  Persia  and  China, 
and  from  China  to  take  porcelain  to  Greece, 
and  from  Greece  to  take  gold-tissue  to  In- 
dia.” We  have  seen  also  from  Khordadbeh, 
an  Arabic  author,  that  the  Musselmans  set- 
tled in  the  Corean  peninsula  for  trade,  and 
that  among  the  articles  of  export  were  por- 
celain and  saddles,  which  we  know  were 
highly  decorated. 

It  seems  clear  from  this  that  Corea  in- 
fluenced Persia,  and  Persia  influenced  Co- 
rea. Especially  in  the  scroll-  and  fretwork 

1 Corea,  the  Hermit  Nation,  p.  1. 


254 


COREA. 


and  arabesque  decoration  the  far-eastern 
peninsula  seems  to  have  borrowed  from  her 
far  inland  neighbor. 

The  influence  of  Saracen  art  upon  the 
Corean  is  seen  in  a variety  of  Corean  prod- 
ucts. Japanese  encyclopaedias  show  the  fig- 
ures of  large  vases  with  marked  arabesque 
designs.  In  the  French-Corean  dictionary 
a native  term  ( tchyoui-piyeng ) is  defined  as 
arabesque  designs  such  as  seen  upon  screens, 
though  the  term  is  now  also  applied  to  the 
patterns  formed  by  clipping  interlacing  trees 
into  curious  shapes.  In  a collection  of  Co- 
rean bronzes  the  arabesque  and  loop  pattern 
will  be  noticed  as  frequently  recurring,  as 
well  as  upon  the  woven  stuffs  and  brocades. 
One  especially  pretty  figure  is  that  of  the 
swastikas  (or  Buddhist  cross)  in  diamonds, 
alternating  with  scroll  patterns  in  squares. 
Fans,  embroidered  robes,  dress  patterns  and 
lacquered  work,  all  show  Persian  influence. 

The  so-called  “ Greek  fret  ” is  a common 
symbol  on  much  of  the  art-work  of  Eastern 
Asia,  and,  like  the  swastika , or  “ Buddhist 
cross,”  pattern,  is  not  specially  characteristic 
of  any  nation.  On  Corean  bronzes  this  fret- 


CORE  AN  ART,  PAST  AND  PRESENT.  255 

work  in  all  its  varieties  is  very  noticeable. 
It  probably  stands  to  the  philosophic  mind  as 
the  graphic  symbol  of  evolution,  or  the  inter- 
play of  the  dual  principle  of  male  and  fe- 
male, active  and  passive,  which  runs  through 
all  nature,  and  finds  its  literary  expression  so 
fully  in  Chinese  speculation.  On  porcelain  and 
embroidery,  war-banners  and  head-dresses, 
and  in  architecture,  the  Corean  eye  seems  to 
love  its  mysticism  and  chaste  adornment. 

Decoration  is  the  passion  of  the  Orient, 
and  for  this,  rather  than  for  creative  or 
ideal  art,  must  we  look  from  this  nation 
to  whose  language  gender  is  unknown  and 
in  which  personification  is  unthought  of, 
though  all  nature  is  animate  with  malignant 
or  beneficent  presences.  Abstract  qualities 
embodied  in  human  form  are  unknown  to 
the  Corean,  but  his  refined  taste  enjoys  what- 
ever thought  and  labor  have  made  charming 
to  the  eye  by  its  suggestion  of  pleasing  im- 
ages to  the  imagination.  His  art  is  decora- 
tive, not  creative  or  ideal.  His  choice  pieces 
of  bric-a-brac  may  be  rougher  and  coarser 
than  those  of  Japan,  but  their  individuality 
is  as  strongly  marked  as  that  of  the  Chinese, 


256 


COREA. 


while  the  taste  displayed  is  severer  than 
that  of  the  later  Japanese.  These  objects 
of  skill  and  price,  of  use  and  beauty  com- 
bined, made  by  the  skillful  artificers  of 
Sliin-ra,  delighted  the  courtiers  of  Nan- 
king, Kidto  and  Bagdad,  and  are  worthy 
of  our  study. 

We  proceed  to  notice  some  of  the  most 
striking  art-motives  or  decorative  symbols 
seen  on  Corean  wares.  First  of  all,  and 
most  characteristic,  is  the  “ wave-pattern,”  so 
called.  It  resembles  the  effect  produced  in 
plumage  by  the  overlapping  ends  of  feath- 
ers, which  show  only  their  curved  tips,  or 
that  of  fisli-scales,  where  one  circle  impinges 
upon  and  occults  parts  of  the  others.  That 
the  Corean  symbol  represents  waves,  and 
not  scales,  disks  or  feathers,  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  each  circle  or  semicircle  has  con- 
centric lines  drawn  within  it.  The  wave- 
pattern  is  fitly  chosen  as  the  most  impres- 
sive idiom  in  the  language  of  Corean  art,  for 
“the  hermit  nation”  is  set  not  in  “a  streak 
o'f  silver  sea,”  but  dwells  encompassed  by 
“ ten  thousand  flashings  of  blue  waves.” 

The  waves  mounting  one  upon  another  in 


COREA N ART,  PAST  AND  PRESENT.  257 

ceaseless  ebb  and  flow  is  to  the  Corean  a 
symbol  of  the  eternal  sea.  However  con- 
ventionally they  may  be  treated,  they  form 
that  picture  of  the  restless  main  which  strikes 
the  eye  of  this  dweller  in  a mountain-land. 
Looking  down  from  a height  upon  the  wide 
plain  of  the  sea,  the  water  seems  to  slant 
upward,  curve  upon  curve,  to  heaven.  The 
wave-pattern  in  art,  as  in  his  own  phrase, 
represents  to  the  Corean  “ ten  thousand 
flashings  of  blue  waves.” 

The  Japanese,  adopting  this  symbol  along 
with  a host  of  art-motives  from  Cho-sen, 
greatly  improved  it.  On  their  porcelain, 
bronze  and  wood-carving  they  have  made 
the  waves  hooked  and  finger-like,  as  if  in- 
stinct with  life.  They  have  added  bubbles 
and  spray,  and  have  painted  the  tiny  sea- 
bird fluttering  up  and  down  with  the  rising 
billows.  Jacquemart  in  his  History  of  the 
Ceramic  Art,  and  Prime  in  his  Pottery  and 
Porcelain,  give  a picture  of  a Corean  water- 
pot  decorated  in  waves  moulded  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  paste,  with  flowers  floating,  and 
upright  bands  of  arabesque  dividing  the 
mimic  ocean  into  “the  four  seas.” 


17 


258 


COREA. 


A more  prosaic  use  of  the  wave-design  is 
found  on  the  back  of  the  perforated  iron 
and  brass  coins,  the  well-known  “ cash,” 
where  it  represents  circulation — perhaps 
also  fluctuation  in  value. 

Other  uses  of  the  wave  in  Corean  art  are 
less  conventional  in  form.  The  handle  of 
a tall  teapot  shows  a cluster  of  curling 
waves  frozen  into  solidity.  A bowl . has  a 
base  which  makes  it  look  as  though  it  were 
floating  on  a mass  of  foamy  waves.  On 
armor,  curtains  and  in  architecture,  espe- 
cially in  panels,  the  wave-pattern  is  notice- 
ably frequent.  On  Japanese  wares  and  on 
our  own  printers’  head-  and  tail-pieces  for 
fancy  printing — often  mixed  with  European 
designs — it  may  now  be  frequently  recog- 
nized in  this  country. 

Another  pattern  very  frequently  repeated 
seems  to  be  founded  upon  the  chrysanthe- 
mum, the  favorite  flower  of  the  Coreans 
even  before  it  became  the  imperial  badge 
of  Japan,  if  indeed  the  so-called  kiku-mon 
of  the  Mikado  be  not  a sunflower  treated 
conventionally.  Long  centuries  ago  chrys- 
anthemums were  among  the  gifts  of  the 


COREAN  ART \ PAST  AND  PRESENT.  259 

sovereigns  of  Shin-ra  to  the  Japanese  em- 
peror. In  Corean  art  petal  upon  petal,  as 
if  copied  directly  from  the  perfect  autumn 
flower — only  one  of  which  is  allowed  to 
grow  upon  a stalk — seems  to  have  been  the 
delight  of  the  artist,  who  made  bronze  and 
wood  and  porcelain  bloom  again  with  fra- 
grance to  the  eye.  Another  design  seems 
adapted  from  the  rosettes  W'hicli  the  taper 
fingers  of  Japanese  and  Coreans  plait  from 
bamboo  shreds.  Some  fine  examples  of 
carving  in  these  floral  designs  are  found  in 
the  royal  palace  in  Seoul. 

The  “ shark’s  tooth  ” is  another  figure 
often  used,  especially  on  vases  where  the 
spherical  surface  requires  a broad  base  and 
sharp  slope  to  a point.  On  either  the  inside 
or  outside  of  flaring  brims  of  vases  these 
highly-pointed  arches  are  very  effective. 
A number  of  designs  in  the  Gh'ammar  of 
Japanese  Ornament,  illustrating  decorative 
effects  in  upholstery,  brocade,  painting  and 
carving,  may  be  recognized  as  of  Corean  ori- 
gin. Other  striking  designs  may  be  studied 
on  Corean  war-banners  and  equipments, 
which  are  at  once  emblems  of  art,  religion 


260 


COREA. 


and  patriotism.  The  method  of  treating  the 
clouds  is  slightly  different  from  that  in  vogue 
either  in  China  or  Japan.  The  lightning 
is  not  only  forked  and  zigzagged,  but  returns 
upon  itself  like  a celestial  boomerang.  The 
stars  are  represented  in  galaxies  and  con- 
stellations, each  linked  to  the  other  by  trans- 
verse lines.  One  spirited  design  shows  the 
lightning  darting  out  of  the  suddenly-illu- 
mined clouds ; another  represents  the  sun 
and  clouds  in  contrasting  effulgence  and 
shade.  On  another  the  guardian  deity 
charges  to  victory  on  his  tiny  piebald  horse. 
All  these  martial  designs  show  spirit,  orig- 
inality and  vigor  of  artistic  treatment. 

In  depicting  animals  the  Coreans  seem  to 
equal,  if  not  to  excel,  the  Japanese,  their 
motion  and  expression  being  represented 
with  spirit  and  keen  appreciation.  Color 
is  liberally  used,  and  the  artist’s  brush  suc- 
ceeds fully  in  portraying  upon  the  canvas 
what  the  native  imagination  pictures  to  it- 
self. The  ancient  and  still-lingering  wor- 
ship of  Heaven  and  all  the  powers  of  the 
air,  visible  and  invisible,  is  strikingly  re- 
flected in  the  forest  of  banners  borne  by 


CORE  AN  ART,  PAST  AND  PRESENT.  261 

the  Corean  military  forces.  A large  col- 
lection of  these  were  captured  by  United 
States  marines  and  sailors  in  1871,  which 
have  furnished  to  the  writer  interesting 
matter  for  study.  Illustrating  both  super- 
stition and  art,  they  are  full  of  originality 
and  bold  artistic  treatment.  The  “ fire- 
tiger  ” on  the  flag  of  the  mountaineers  and 
hunters — a winged  tiger  rampant  clasping 
curling  fire  in  his  claws — and  the  double- 
winged serpent  were  among  the  figures  most 
frequently  repeated.  Both  these  creatures 
are  worshiped  in  Ping-an  and  Ham-kiung 
provinces. 

Though  the  dragon,  with  other  symbol- 
ical animals  common  to  the  art  of  Chinese 
Asia,  is  often  absent  from  the  ceramic  prod- 
ucts of  Corea,  yet  this  creature  is  a favorite 
subject  with  artists  in  ink  and  color.  To 
our  Western  eyes,  the  dragon  is  only  a gro- 
tesque and  hideous  monster,  a product  of  the 
delirium  tremens  of  the  pagan  imagination. 
To  the  Oriental  he  is  the  embodiment  of  con- 
centrated force.  To  the  casual  Western  eye 
all  dragons  are  alike,  yet  to  the  Oriental  critic 
the  dragon  of  a painter  of  genius  is  unique. 


262 


COREA. 


Seizing  this  subject  as  expressive  of  cos- 
mic power,  of  the  fierce  pride  of  victory,  of 
invincible  courage,  the  Corean  artist,  like 
the  Chinese  and  Japanese,  revels  in  the  joy 
of  his  craft  as  he  depicts  its  writhing  folds 
half  hidden  in  the  clouds.  In  decorative 
art  the  dragon  is  especially  made  use  of,  as 
its  shape  lends  itself  admirably  to  curved 
surfaces,  and  its  coils  and  arches  are  easily 
utilized  for  handles  and  bas-relief  effects. 
Perfectly  plain  utensils  have  often  as  their 
only  decoration  a young  dragon  on  their 
side  or  edge.  Fans  are  the  objects  of  much 
decoration  and  carving  and  inlaying.  There 
are,  as  the  language  shows,  several  varieties 
of  these  useful  articles  of  etiquette  and  per- 
sonal comfort.  The  Coreans  use  all  sorts, 
though  the  Japanese  claim  the  invention 
of  the  folding  fan,  which,  modeled  on  a bat’s 
wing,  opens  and  shuts.  The  finest  are  in- 
laid with  pearls.  A few  of  those  we  have 
seen  were  painted  with  landscapes,  water- 
scenes  or  in  arabesque  patterns.  Some  of 
the  presents  of  the  king  of  Corea  to  Taiko, 
handsomely  decorated  with  pearls,  are  still 
exhibited  in  Kioto. 


COREAN  ART,  PAST  AND  PRESENT.  263 

The  early  Japanese  learned  the  art  of 
wood-carving  from  the  artists  of  the  penin- 
sula, and  some  of  the  most  notable  examples 
of  fine  woodwork  in  Nippon  are  referred  to 
Corean  originals.  So  far  as  known  to  us, 
this  art  is  now  historical  rather  than  actual, 
though  in  the  un visited  temples  secluded 
among  the  mountains  specimens  worthy  of 
study  may  still  be  found. 

The  Coreans  cannot  boast  of  skill  in  lac- 
quering equal  to  that  of  the  Japanese,  yet 
their  varnish  closely  resembles  gilding.  The 
ot  or  lacquer  comes  from  the  ofnanu,  a tree 
which,  like  the  Japanese,  poisons  the  skin. 
The  chil-woli  seems  to  be  of  still  another  kind. 
We  have  seen  a few  specimens  of  their  tong- 
yu  varnish-work,  mostly  fans,  but  these  were 
not  of  the  best  kind.  Their  musical  instru- 
ments and  fine  boxes  are  very  neatly  fin- 
ished with  the  hard  gilt-like  polish  which 
this  vegetable  product  confers. 

In  metal-working  it  is  not  probable  that 
the  Coreans  have  kept  pace  with  the  Jap- 
anese, although  at  the  tombs  of  the  Toku- 
gawa  shoguns  in  Tokio  there  is  a pair  of 
massive  bronze  gates  which  are  superb  spe- 


264 


COREA. 


mens  of  artistic  workmanship.  They  were 
presented  by  the  king  of  Corea,  and  have 
on  one  side  the  waves  which  belong  to  Co- 
rean  art.  At  Nikko,  where  Old  Japan’s 
greatest  statesman,  Iyeyasu,  is  buried,  a 
most  elaborate  chandelier  of  bronze  is  said 
to  have  formed  part  of  the  tribute  from 
Cho-sen.  In  the  latter  case  the  candle- 
holders  are  sconces  like  ours,  whereas  Jap- 
anese candles  are  hollow  and  rest  on  a spike. 
It  is  not  impossible  that  the  sconces  were 
added  afterward  or  that  the  Coreans  make 
use  of  them.  In  addition  to  the  chandelier, 
there  is  a fine  bronze  bell  from  Corea,  also 
a gift,  with  an  inscription  composed  by  a 
minister  of  the  court  of  Seoul,  dated  about 
1642. 

If  these  gates  and  the  chandelier  are  not 
of  genuine  Corean  workmanship,  there  are 
in  other  places  of  Japan  undoubted  speci- 
mens of  Corean  bronze-casting.  The  old- 
est pieces  are  the  finest.  It  is  probable  that 
the  Japanese  term  for  bronze,  lcara-lcane , 
usually  translated  “ Chinese  metal,”  means, 
more  properly  speaking,  “ Corean  alloy,” 
the  oldest  bells — occasionally  dug  up  on 


COREAN  ART,  PAST  AND  PRESENT.  265 

Japanese  soil — being  of  copper.  From  an- 
cient times  the  Japanese  visitors  to  the 
peninsula,  whether  priests  or  soldiers,  were 
impressed  with  the  massiveness  and  beauty 
of  the  bells,  images  and  vases  of  bronze, 
and  some  of  the  handsomest  pieces  of  this 
sort  in  the  museums  of  Xara  and  Kidto 
are  known  to  have  been  brought  over  from 
Corea.  Connoisseurs  recognize  them  by  their 
general  style,  texture  of  metal  and  character- 
istic symbols  of  decoration. 

In  looking  over  these  Corean  bowls,  vases, 
braziers,  decanters,  incense-burners,  censers, 
kettles  and  trenchers,  as  depicted  in  Jap- 
anese works  and  described  as  Corean,  one 
cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  their  graceful 
forms  and  the  purity  of  their  lines,  as  well 
as  the  chasteness  of  their  decoration — the 
“ Greek  fret  ” in  every  form,  the  swastika  in 
squares,  the  dotted  diamond,  the  wave  pat- 
tern and  the  loop-figure  and  rosette  prevail- 
ing, though  in  some  cases  all  these  designs 
are  used  on  one  surface. 

The  pearl-inlaid  and  decorated  saddles, 
bows  and  arms  which  pleased  the  Arabs  in 
the  ninth  century  are  still  made  in  the  pen- 


266 


COREA. 


insula  to-day,  but  the  finest  metal-work  is 
damascened.  The  inlaying  of  gold  and  sil- 
ver on  iron  is  carried  on,  and  some  of  the 
metal  helmets  and  cuirasses  captured  by  the 
French  at  Kang-wa  in  1866  excited  their 
profound  admiration. 

In  ceramics  it  is  said  that  the  manufac- 
ture of  porcelain  is  but  a memory,  the  Jap- 
anese invasion  of  1592-97  having  sapped 
the  industry  and  carried  the  craft  and  the 
craftsmen  bodily  to  Japan,  with  their  ideas, 
models  and  skill.  Indeed,  nearly  all  the 
achievements  of  the  Japanese  in  the  ceramic 
art  are  historically  referable  to  Coreans,  as 
we  have  before  seen.  The  old  blue  unglazed 
pottery  found  in  tombs  and  dolmens  in  Cen- 
tral Japan  are  traceable  to  “ the  Treasure- 
land  of  the  West.”  In  Taiko’s  time,  even 
before  the  war,  a family  of  Corean  potters 
settled  in  Kioto  made  a black  or  brown 
ware,  chiefly  in  the  form  of  bowls,  upon 
which  the  Mikado’s  regent  allowed  the 
maker  to  set  a golden  seal  granted  by  him- 
self. Such  bowls,  humble  as  they  appear 
to  us,  still  bring  the  incredible  price  of 
three  hundred  dollars  in  Japan.  They  were 


CORE  AN  ART,  PAST  AND  PRESENT.  267 

in  great  request  for  those  tea-clubs  of  Kioto 
which  Taiko  originated  in  the  interests  of 
peace. 

The  Coreans  were  never  profuse  decora- 
tors of  porcelain.  Their  borders  are  chaste 
and  their  ornaments  few  and  simple.  The 
mythical  animals  are  not  often  seen.  Un- 
like the  Japanese  or  Chinese,  their  favor- 
ite porcelain  was,  and  is,  a fine  ivory-white 
glazed  ware  which  is  without  the  lustre,  or 
rather  the  glitter,  of  the  Japanese.  This 
ware  dates  from  the  Korai  period,  or  from 
about  the  twelfth  century  on  to  the  Japan- 
ese invasion.  The  numerous  pieces  which 
we  have  seen  consisted  chiefly  of  incense- 
or  ash-holders  with  moulded  flowers  under 
the  glaze,  cups  and  bowls  of  simple  form, 
fruit-dishes,  vases,  a large  plate  with  land- 
scape, water  and  government  officers  in  a 
boat,  and,  finest  of  all,  a plump  dignitary 
on  one  of  the  stout,  stunted  little  ponies  of 
Northern  Corea.  The  tall,  long-spouted  tea- 
pot with  wave-handle,  or  decoration  with 
moulded  waves  under  the  glaze,  is  among 
the  prizes  of  collectors.  It  seems  highly 
probable  that  heretofore  we  have  had  on 


268 


COREA. 


our  tables  the  most  characteristic  pieces 
in  Corean  ceramics — namely,  the  tall,  long- 
spouted  porcelain  teapots  which  our  grand- 
mothers loved  so  well. 

The  Coreans  are  careful  to  distinguish  im- 
ported from  native  ware,  and  the  historic  dif- 
ferences in  pieces  are  well  known  to  the  cul- 
tured. Sa-kiui  is  faience  or  semi-porcelain  ; 
oai-kiui  is  Japanese ; while  tang-lciui  or  mod- 
ern Chinese  ware  is  named  after  dynasties. 
Crackle-ware  is  among  the  favorites.  Pong- 
sa  is  given  by  Bishop  Ridel  as  the  title  of 
“ superintendent  of  the  factory  of  royal  por- 
celain.” Where  such  a factory  is,  if  any 
now  exists,  or  whether  there  be  others,  we 
do  not  know. 

In  artistic  work  with  the  brush  or  pen 
(and  in  Chinese  Asia  the  pen  is  a brush) 
caligraphy  ranks  among  the  finest  of  fine 
arts,  and  good  specimens  are  greatly  appre- 
ciated. These  are  written  with  the  brush 
and  “ India  ” ink.  With  a backing  of  silk 
they  are  hung  up  as  wall  ornaments.  Any 
picture,  scroll  or  painting  mounted  in  Co- 
rean style  and  hung  up  is  called  pok-ja. 

The  various  styles  of  drawing  and  paint- 


COREAN  ART,  PAST  AND  PRESENT.  269 

ing  are  carefully  discriminated  and  classified 
by  the  natives.  Chu-hong  are  pictures  in 
red;  chai-pon  are  polychrome.  There  are 
also  sketches  in  black  and  white  only  of  land- 
scapes, mountains,  bamboo,  moonlight,  etc. 

At  the  present  time  little  that  is  truly 
artistic  is  produced  in  the  peninsula,  and 
the  glory  of  native  art  is  largely  a thing 
of  the  past.  Yet  it  is  highly  possible  that 
“ the  hermit  ” may  appear  “ in  the  market- 
places” of  the  world  with  a surprise  for  us. 

A recent  Japanese  visitor  to  Seoul,  and  a 
member  of  the  Mikado’s  embassy  sent  to  make 
a treaty  in  1876,  makes  the  severe  criticism 
which  we  give  below.  Yet  we  must  remem- 
ber what  has  been  said  about  caligraphy : 

“ The  art  of  drawing  seems  to  be  in  a very 
backward  state  among  the  Coreans.  They 
have  pictures  in  which  various  colors  are 
used,  and  some  in  India  ink  only,  and  seem 
greatly  to  prefer  the  former.  But  if  we  com- 
pare either  of  these  with  their  writing,  the 
painting  is  far  behind.  The  pictures  which 
we  saw  on  the  screens  in  the  best  room  in 
Cho-sen  might  be  purchased  for  a tempo 
(penny)  or  so  in  Japan.” 


270 


COREA. 


Koei-Ling,  the  Chinese  ambassador  to 
Seoul  in  1866,  writes  of  the  extreme  sim- 
plicity of  Corean  interiors,  “ Except  in  the 
palace  of  the  king,  I have  not  seen  any 
object  of  art.” 

Though  at  the  present  time  the  artistic 
industries  of  this  newly-opened  country  are 
in  a very  degenerate  state,  yet  some  articles 
are  still  produced  in  the  potteries  and  foun- 
dries worthy  of  the  art-collector’s  regard.  In 
faience  small  articles  of  exquisitely  grace- 
ful form,  with  celadon  glaze  of  a peculiar 
green  tint,  are  made,  and  industriously  and 
cheaply  counterfeited  in  Japan  and  China. 
Much  of  the  scroll  fretwork  and  even  figure 
decoration  upon  their  vases  and  jars,  which 
we  have  seen  in  a collection  in  this  country, 
reminds  one  of  the  severe  simplicity  of  early 
Greek  art.  The  marvelous  tints  used  in 
their  glazes  in  the  better  days  of  native 
art  seem  to  be  still  known  and  practiced  by 
Corean  potters,  but  the  making  of  real  por- 
celain is  perhaps  at  present  nearly  unknown 
in  the  peninsula,  and  the  chief  works  pro- 
duced from  the  kilns  are  the  huge  glazed 
water-pots  seen  in  every  dwelling.  For 


COREAN  ART,  PAST  AND  PRESENT.  271 

most  works  of  household  utility,  for  which 
the  Japanese  aud  ourselves  use  porcelain, 
such  as  cups  and  dishes,  the  Chd-senese  use 
white  metal  or  brass. 

The  potters  usually  live  in  villages  by 
themselves  in  favored  situations  where  clay 
and  wood  are  convenient ; for,  though  coal 
exists  in  the  peninsula,  it  is  never  used  for 
firing  pottery.  When  either  clay  or  wood 
is  exhausted,  they  select  another  site  for 
their  industry,  building  their  huts  and  the 
furnaces,  or  one  common  oven,  very  near 
each  other.  The  day  on  which  their  baked 
products  are  withdrawn  from  the  kilns  is  a 
gala-day  marked  by  great  rejoicing  and  dis- 
sipation. 

As  in  Old  Japan,  there  are  no  large  facto- 
ries in  Corea  ; the  only  workshops  or  manu- 
factories are  the  lowly  huts  of  the  workmen, 
and  in  these  all  the  products  of  skill,  how- 
ever fine,  are  produced. 

In  many  instances  the  stock  patterns  re- 
produced from  century  to  century  in  Japan 
are  of  Corean  conception.  As  matter  of 
prosaic  fact,  the  modern  Oriental  artist  is 
content  with  mere  repetition  of  certain  real 


272 


COREA. 


or  conventional  forms  of  natural  objects,  and 
much  of  the  supposed  love  and  faithful  ad- 
herence to  Nature  is  in  reality  but  technical 
skill  in  copying.  Yet  when  art  was  strong 
and  original  in  Shin-ra  and  Korai,  as  in  Ja- 
pan, it  was  a faithful  reflection  of  Nature  in 
her  moments  of  beauty  and  glory.  Upon 
such  undoubted  specimens  of  Corean  art  as 
we  have  studied  natural  scenery  is  rendered 
with  accuracy  and  subdued  enthusiasm.  The 
far-off  mountains  uprearing  their  summits 
in  pride  “ ten  thousand  heights  of  a man  ” 
above  the  lowly  hut  of  the  laborer,  or  by 
their  eternal  repose  dwarfing  into  insignif- 
icance even  the  temples  erected  on  their 
slopes ; the  expanse  of  sky  and  water ; the 
lofty  trees  and  the  tiny  undergrowth, — all 
caught  in  Nature’s  happiest  mood  and  fixed 
in  rich  color  on  vase  or  fan,  seem  but  a re- 
flection of  the  beauty  of  earth  in  the  mirror 
of  the  artist’s  mind. 

And  yet,  when  turning  from  descriptive 
to  decorative  the  artist  knows  well  the 
nature  of  his  material  and  the  limitations 
imposed  upon  him  by  form  and  shape.  A 
teapot  in  a sketch  before  us  is  a typical 


CORE  AN  ART,  PAST  AND  PRESENT.  273 

example  of  Corean  decorative  art.  In  its 
shape,  in  the  delineation  and  position  of 
trees,  mountains  and  temple,  the  true  in- 
stinct of  the  artist  is  shown.  And  as  any 
representation  of  Nature  is  not  perfect  to 
his  mind  without  water  in  some  form,  the 
artist  has  wrought  in  the  handle  a strand 
of  curling  waves.  A shallow  dish  has  in 
the  flat  top  brim  a variety  of  the  “ Greek 
fret,”  and  on  the  sides  waves  and  rolling 
foam.  On  another  fruit-dish  the  decora- 
tion is  in  leaves,  probably  of  the  fruit  it- 
self. While  the  figures,  patterns  and  borders 
chosen  by  the  artists  are  all  aj^propriate  and 
beautiful,  the  exquisite  shapes  of  the  vessels 
will  not  fail  to  win  admiration.  After  a 
study  of  these  all  will  acknowledge  the  pos- 
session of  a refined  art-sense  in  Cho-sen. 
In  their  decoration  of  war-flags,  trumpets, 
skin  and  metal  drums  and  other  musical 
instruments,  and  the  patterns  used  in  their 
brocade  and  woven  goods,  a high  knowledge 
of  the  principles  of  decorative  art  is  shown. 
Somewhere  in  this  country  must  still  exist 
the  cultivated  taste  to  appreciate  these  treas- 
ures of  artistic  skill.  Even  from  a study 


18 


274 


COREA. 


of  such  genuine  works  of  Corean  art  as  we 
possess  in  Europe  and  America,  it  is  clear 
that  in  the  light  of  its  study  Japanese  art 
loses  much  of  its  originality.  To  the  artists 
of  this  hermit  land  we  must  give  the  credit 
of  many  an  artistic  conception  and  method 
of  treatment  hitherto  considered  to  be  pure- 
ly Japanese. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


THE  EIGHT  PROVINCES. 

HE  Coreans,  who  have  for  centuries  kept 


themselves  in  ignorance  of  the  rest  of 
the  world,  are  surprised  at  the  knowledge 
which  foreigners  possess  about  their  coun- 
try. Yet  the  matter  is  easily  explained. 
The  Japanese  during  their  great  invasion  in 
the  sixteenth  century  made  themselves  thor- 
oughly familiar  with  the  topography  of  the 
peninsula.  The  Jesuit  Fathers  in  Peking, 
who  undertook  a survey  of  the  Chinese  em- 
, pire,  included  the  little  vassal  “ kingdom  in 
the  east  ” in  their  labors.  They  made  a map 
of  Corea  from  a copy  brought  from  the 
palace  in  Seoul,  which  they  translated  and 
published  in  Europe.  Numerous  foreign 
war-vessels  have  surveyed  portions  of  the 
Corean  coast,  and  thus  a miscellaneous  body 
of  information  lay  ready  for  the  use  of  the 
cartographer. 


275 


276 


COREA. 


In  1876  the  Japanese  War  Department 
in  Tokio,  making  use  of  this  collected  ma- 
terial, began  the  construction  of  an  elabor- 
ate map  of  Cho-sen.  Fortunately,  at  this 
time  the  Corean  refugee,  Kin-Rinshio,  a 
thorough  scholar  and  familiar  with  the  geog- 
raphy of  his  own  country,  was  present  in 
Tokio  and  lent  his  invaluable  assistance. 
The  map  was  drawn  to  scale,  with  latitude 
and  longitude,  and  the  mountains,  rivers 
and  coast-line  were  accurately  delineated. 

This  is  at  present  the  best  map  of  Corea 
yet  produced,  and  educated  natives  are  sur- 
prised at  the  fullness  and  precision  of  infor- 
mation which  it  exhibits.  Fortunately,  the 
original  purpose  of  its  publication — that  of 
guide  to  the  Japanese  armies  of  invasion — 
has  been  forgotten  in  the  triumphs  of  peace- 
ful diplomacy. 

From  this  map  and  other  data,  Chinese, 
Japanese,  American  and  European,  we  are 
able  to  outline  the  geography  of  the  eight 
provinces.  We  refrain,  however,  from  the 
use  of  many  uncouth  names,  and  refer  the 
student  to  the  Manual  of  Korean  Geograph- 
ical Names  and  other  Proper  Names  Roman- 


THE  EIGHT  PROVINCES. 


277 


ized,  by  Mr.  William  G.  Aston,1  which  is 
an  English  index  to  the  Chinese  characters 
used  in  this  superb  map.  The  map  in  Co- 
rea, the  Hermit  Nation,  is  also  reduced  from 
this  fine  specimen  of  Japanese  cartography. 

Corean  names  are  as  yet  unfamiliar  to 
our  eyes  and  ears,  and  for  some  time  to 
come  there  will  be  confusion  in  books  and 
newspapers  from  the  fact  that  there  are  at 
least  three  ways  of  pronouncing  the  Chi- 
nese characters  with  which  each  wTord  is 
written — viz.  Chinese,  Corean  and  Japan- 
ese. As  we  have  Leghorn  and  Livorno, 
Munich  and  Munchen,  London  and  Lon- 
dres,  in  Europe,  so  a person  writing  from 
Tokio  will  pronounce  In-chiun,  Kin-sen ; a 
Pekingese,  Jen-shan  ; and  a native  will  use 
the  local  and  national  term.  It  is  hoped 
that  the  Corean  way  of  sounding  Corean 
words  will  soon  be  the  method  in  general 
use,  and  that  the  missionary  triumphs  of 
Christianity  will  before  the  end  of  this 
century  make  the  names  of  many  places 

: Yokohama,  printed  at  the  Japan  Mail  Office.  Messrs. 
Kelly  & Co.  of  Yokohama,  No.  28  Main  street,  supply  books, 
maps  and  literature  relating  to  Corea  and  the  Corean  language. 


278 


COREA. 


now  unknown  as  familiar  as  household 
words. 

We  glance  now  at  the  physical,  descrip- 
tive and  historical  geography  of  the  eight 
provinces,  beginning  at  the  central  or  cap- 
ital one.  It  is  called  on  old  maps  King-ki- 
tao,  which  is  the  Chinese  sound  of  the  three 
characters  used  in  its  name.  It  is  the  small- 
est though  among  the  most  populous  of  the 
eight  provinces,  and  much  of  its  area  is  the 
basin  of  the  Han  River,  the  largest  in  the 
peninsula.  This,  “ the  Great  River,”  flows 
across  nearly  the  whole  breadth  of  the  coun- 
try. It  has  its  fountains  in  Kang-wen  prov- 
ince, in  the  great  mountain-chain  of  the 
peninsula.  After  draining  the  two  prov- 
inces, the  full  volume  of  all  its  tributaries 
empties  into  the  Yellow  Sea  about  thirty- 
five  miles  from  Seoul.  One  of  its  mouths 
finds  a channel  for  its  waters  south  of  Kang- 
wa  Island,  and  the  other  around  the  north- 
ern end.  The  current  is  very  violent,  and 
the  apparent  breadth  of  the  river  is  greatly 
increased  by  banks  of  mud  and  sand  which 
are  covered  in  the  spring  freshets.  The 
water,  coming  swiftly  from  the  mountain- 


THE  EIGHT  PRO  VINCES. 


279 


heights,  is  very  cold,  and  helps  to  cause  the 
fogs  which  often  enshroud  the  coast  for 
hours  and  days.  These  fogs,  with  the  tre- 
mendous tides  and  numerous  islands,  make 
navigation  dangerous  and  difficult. 

Westward  of  the  three  lower  western  prov- 
inces there  stretches  out  “ the  Corean  Ar- 
chipelago,” a maze  of  islands  of  all  sizes 
and  degrees  of  habitation  and  fertility.  The 
governor  of  each  province  has  jurisdiction 
over  the  islands  fronting  his  land  domain. 
Those  belonging  to  the  capital  province  lie 
between  the  thirty-seventh  and  thirty-eighth 
parallels.  The  Ferrieres  group  is  usually 
sighted  first  by  ships  from  Shanghai.  The 
channel  bears  over  toward  Roze  Island, 
thence  to  Boisee,  and  so  past  Kang-wa  Isl- 
and to  the  true  mouth  of  the  Han  River, 
the  waters  of  which  can,  by  eye  and  ther- 
mometer, be  distinguished  nearly  as  far 
south  as  Roze  Island.  Indeed,  a recent 
visitor  describes  In-chiun  as  “situated  at 
the  entrance  of  the  Han  River,  opposite 
Roze  Island.” 

These  names,  together  with  those  of  Prince 
Jerome  Gulf  and  Imperatrice  Gulf,  are  of 


280 


COREA. 


French  origin,  and  were  bestowed  by  the 
officers  of  Admiral  Roze’s  squadron  in  1866. 
The  new  seaport  of  Chimul-po,  which  is  five 
miles  from  the  town  of  In-chiun,  lies  on  the 
south-eastern  curve  of  Imperatrice  Gulf. 
The  distance  to  Seoul  over  mountain,  hill 
and  valley  is  about  twenty-five  miles.  The 
landing  facilities  at  the  port  are  as  yet  rude, 
but  its  trade  promises  to  be  lively  and  per- 
manent. The  tide  at  this  place  rises  and 
falls  twenty-eight  feet. 

We  find  In-chiun  marked  on  old  Corean 
and  Japanese  maps  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
One  of  the  tokens  of  its  recent  history  is  in 
its  cemetery,  where  stand  fourteen  granite 
monuments  erected  to  the  memory  of  the 
members  of  the  Japanese  Legation  who 
were  killed  in  Seoul  and  at  this  place  in 
1882. 

Other  cities  in  this  province  are  Kai-seng 
or  Sunto,  Kwang-chiu,  Pu-pion,  Kang-wa 
on  the  island  of  the  same  name,  Su-wen  and 
Kum-po.  Yang-kun,  a town  near  the  east- 
ern borders,  may  be  called  the  cradle  of 
Roman  Christianity  in  Corea. 

Nearly  every  part  of  the  capital  province 


THE  EIGHT  PROVINCES. 


281 


is  historic  ground,  and  is  full  of  interest  to 
the  patriot,  the  student  and  the  traveler. 

Kang-wen-do,  the  next  province  to  the 
east  and  bordering  on  the  Sea  of  Japan, 
is  well  named  the  “ Province  of  the  River- 
Sources.”  It  consists  of  a lofty  chain  of 
mountains  fronting  the  sea  like  a wall,  and 
the  slopes  and  valleys  in  which  lie  the  head- 
waters of  Corea’s  greatest  river.  Kang-Aven 
is  but  sparsely  inhabited,  but  is  supposed  to 
be  rich  in  minerals. 

Whang-hai,  or  Yellow  Sea  province,  re- 
ceives its  name  because  the  larger  part  of 
its  frontier  lies  on  that  sea.  It  fronts  the 
promontory  of  Shan-tung,  the  Chinese  prov- 
ince in  Avliich  Confucius  was  born.  It  is 
probable  that  in  very  ancient  times  the  land 
lying  between  these  two  countries  A\Tas  above 
Avater,  and  the  Yellow  Sea  is  still  extreme- 
ly shallow.  The  inhabitants  of  Whang-hai 
dAvell  chiefly  along  the  highroads  in  the 
centre  of  the  province,  the  coast  being 
thinly  populated  and  the  eastern  half  be- 
ing very  mountainous.  In  the  spring-time, 
when  the  shoal  Avaters  near  the  coast  are 
alive  with  herring  beneath  and  Chinese 


282 


COREA. 


fisliing-junks  on  the  surface,  smuggling  is 
extensively  carried  on. 

The  French  priests  made  this  shore  their 
gate  of  entrance  into  this  land,  which  they 
assert  to  be  as  full  of  valuable  metals  as  of 
missionary  promise.  Along  the  thirty-eighth 
parallel  the  shore  is  indented  by  a great  in- 
let of  the  sea.  The  Sir  James  Hall  group 
of  islands  lie  off  this  gap.  These  were 
visited  in  1816  by  Captains  Maxwell  and 
Basil  Hall  of  the  British  navy  in  the  ships 
Lyra  and  Alceste.  They  are  named  in 
honor  of  the  father  of  Captain  Hall,  pres- 
ident of  the  Edinburgh  Geographical  So- 
ciety. Hai-chiu,  the  capital,  and  Whang- 
chiu  are  the  chief  cities. 

Ping-an  is  the  north-western  circuit  or 
do,  bordering  on  the  Chinese  province  of 
Shing-king  and  on  Manchuria.  Its  name 
signifies  “ Tranquillity.”  Its  northern  and 
part  of  its  eastern  frontier  is  made  by  the 
Yalu  Biver. 

Since  the  abolition  of  the  neutral  strip 
of  fifty  miles  in  width  west  of  the  Yalu  the 
Coreans  and  Chinese  are  neighbors,  but  free 
travel  across  the  frontier  is  as  yet  far  from 


THE  EIGHT  PROVISOES. 


283 


being  allowed  to  the  Chinese.  One  tres- 
passer who  crossed  from  the  western  side 
of  the  river  in  1883  without  a passport  was 
seized  and  decapitated.  Even  if  the  Chi- 
nese or  other  foreigners  are,  during  this 
century,  allowed  general  access  and  transit 
in  a country  so  long  “ forbidden,”  it  will 
doubtless  be  with  many  restrictions.  In 
place  of  the  old  wall  of  isolation,  the  lighter 
protection  of  excise  and  customs  will  make 
a lesral  barrier  to  restrain  too  eager  immi- 
grants.  Corea,  “the  little  outpost  state,”  has 
as  great,  and  perhaps  as  groundless,  a fear 
of  a “ Mongolian  invasion  ” as  have  certain 
politicians  among  ourselves.  The  custom- 
houses which  still  line  the  northern  frontier 
are  for  revenue  from  the  natives,  and  not 
for  admittance  to,  or  collection  of  excise 
from,  foreigners.  A considerable  Corean 
population  is  found  dwelling  on  Russian 
and  Chinese  soil  beyond  the  Yalu  and  the 
Tumen  Rivers.  Though  in  some  cases 
these  persons  have  fled  from  justice,  oftener 
they  are  refugees  from  persecution  or  peace- 
able farmers,  fishermen  or  hunters.  The 
Scotch  missionaries  in  Manchuria  and  the 


284 


COREA. 


schoolmasters  and  priests  of  the  Greek 
Church  in  Siberia  are  making  these  cen- 
tres of  Corean  population  their  missionary- 
ground. 

In  its  physical  features  Ping-an  consists 
of  four  lines  of  mountains  trending  south - 
westwardly  to  the  Yellow  Sea.  In  the  val- 
leys formed  by  these  ranges  flow  the  three 
important  rivers — the  Ta-tong,  Ching-chong 
and  Yalu.  The  former,  despite  its  violent 
high  tides,  is  navigable  for  fifty  miles.  At 
the  head  of  navigation  lies  the  principal 
city  and  capital  of  the  circuit,  Ping-an, 
famous  from  times  anterior  to  the  Christian 
era  for  its  sieges.  Here  Chinese,  Tartars 
of  various  dynastic  names,  Mongols,  Jap- 
anese and  Manchius,  have  struggled  for  the 
city,  which  is  a natural  fortress  and  the  key 
to  the  northern  peninsula. 

The  city  population  of  Ping-an  is  found 
mostly  along  the  sea-coast,  which  faces  the 
south,  and  in  the  towns  following  the  high- 
road to  Seoul.  The  rural  population  is 
sprinkled  through  the  valleys.  In  the 
mountainous  regions  live  the  miners,  and 
the  hunters,  whose  magnificent  game  is  the 


THE  EIGHT  PROVISOES. 


285 


thick-furred  tiger,  which  sometimes  reaches 
a bodily  length  of  twelve  feet. 

Ham-kiung,  the  largest  and  most  north- 
erly of  the  eight  circuits,  borders  on  Russia 
and  the  Sea  of  Japan,  its  boundaries  being 
formed  by  nature  of  mountains,  rivers  and 

the  sea.  Its  name  means  “ Perfectly  Bril- 

•/ 

liant.”  The  Tumen  River  divides  the  Co- 
reans  from  the  Russians,  and  rises  in  those 
Ever-white  Mountains,  famous  in  Chinese 
and  native  poetry,  in  which  are  the  foun- 
tains of  three  streams — the  Yalu,  the  Tu- 
men and  the  Sungari. 

By  far  the  largest  portion  of  the  popula- 
tion lives  along  the  sea-shore,  though  several 
frontier  towns  are  found  in  the  Tumen  val- 
ley and  along  the  head- waters  of  the  Yalu. 
The  interior  of  the  province  is  a mountain- 
mass,  in  which  snow,  ice  and  tigers  are  the 
chief  winter  products,  while  in  summer  bril- 
liant flowers  adorn  the  hills  and  gold-dust 
comes  to  market 

In  the  bight  called  Broughton’s  Bay  we 
have  a marked  feature  of  the  coast.  Here 
is  a superb  bay  capable  of  accommodating 
the  navies  of  the  world,  the  shore  dotted 


286 


COREA. 


with  towns  and  villages,  the  surrounding 
country  fertile  and  full  of  places  of  historic 
interest.  Fifteen  of  the  three  hundred  or 
more  of  Corea’s  walled  “ cities  ” are  found 
in  this  province.  Besides  Port  Lazareff  and 
Wenshan  (Genzan),  the  new  treaty-port, 
are  old  camping-grounds  of  the  Japanese, 
and  the  neighboring  cities,  or  fu,  of  Toku- 
gen  and  the  capital,  Ham-fun. 

Kiung-sang,  the  province  nearest  Japan, 
and  whose  language,  customs  and  traditions 
show  most  powerfully  Japanese  influence,  is 
populous,  warm,  sunny  and  fertile.  It  is 
the  “ Well-governed  ” province.  Its  great 
river  is  the  Whang-tong,  or  Nak-tong, 
which  flows  the  whole  length  of  the  cir- 
cuit and  with  its  ramifying  branches  drains 
the  whole  area.  Varied  industries,  such  as 
cattle-raising,  mining,  farming,  fishing  and 
commerce,  flourish  in  this  the  most  popu- 
lous of  the  provinces.  Here  also  is  the 
stronghold  of  Buddhism.  Kiung-sang  was 
noted  for  its  early  civilization  and  the  fre- 
quency of  its  intercourse  with  Japan  both 
in  peace  and  in  war. 

We  find  at  the  mouth  of  the  chief  river 


THE  EIGHT  PROVINCES. 


287 


of  Kiung-sang  an  opening  in  the  coast  which 
is  as  historically  and  commercially  valuable 
as  is  Broughton’s  Bay  in  the  north.  Near 
each  other  are  Fusan,  the  treaty-port,  the 
cities  of  Tong-rai,  Kun-hai  and  a group  of 
interesting  towns.  Three  great  roads  run 
from  Fusan  to  Seoul.  Tai-ku  is  the  capital, 
while  Ulsan  (Uru-san)  on  the  coast  and 
Chin-chiu  in  the  interior  are  famous  in 
Japanese  history.  Kion-chiu,  near  Unkoff- 
sky  Bay,  was  for  centuries  the  capital  of 
Shin-ra,  and  long  after  was  to  Corean  Buddh- 
ism what  Home  was  first  to  primitive  and 
then  to  papal  Christianity,  until  the  torch 
of  the  Japanese  reduced  it  to  ashes  in  1596. 

Chulla,  like  Kiung-sang,  has  a fringe  of 
islands  off  its  southern  coast.  It  has  also 
an  archipelago  lying  to  the  westward.  Over 
these  and  Quelpaert  (coveted  by  Russia  as 
a coaling-station)  the  governor  of  Chulla 
has  jurisdiction.  Many  of  them  bear  Brit- 
ish or  French  names  on  the  charts  thus  far 
made,  showing  that  visits  for  survey,  curios- 
ity or  supplies,  and  shipwrecks,  have  been 
frequent.  This  is  the  province  interesting 
to  Westerners  because  of  the  residence  of 


288 


COREA. 


Hamel  and  liis  companions.  It  doubtless 
contains  the  unknown  graves  of  many  waifs 
from  Europe  and  America  which  research 
may  yet  find  and  mark. 

Three  rivers  of  considerable  size  drain 
the  surface  of  Chulla,  which  in  the  level 
parts  and  valleys  is  fertile.  As  this  prov- 
ince is  nearest  to  Shanghai,  and  quite  near 
Japan,  modern  diplomacy,  forced  by  com- 
mercial need,  will  very  likely  open  new  ports 
for  trade.  Two  places  are  naturally  favor- 
able. The  first  is  Kang-ching,  on  the  south 
coast,  where  begins  the  highroad  to  Seoul. 
It  lies  near  the  head  of  a beautiful  bay  on 
a river.  Another  place,  already  noted  by 
the  Japanese,  is  Mo-po,  on  the  south-west 
coast,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yung-san  River. 
This  stream  is  crossed  near  the  town  of 
Mu-an  by  the  highroad  to  Seoul,  and  is 
navigable  to  Mu-an,  and  possibly  to  Nai-jiu, 
by  boats. 

Chung-cliong-do,  or  “ Province  of  Serene 
Loyalty,”  is  interesting  from  many  points 
of  view.  Three  great  roads  cross  its  north- 
eastern portion  from  Kiung-sang-do,  all 
converging  into  Seoul.  The  western  high- 


THE  EIGHT  PROVINCES. 


289 


road,  coming  up  from  the  south,  skirts  the 
sea-shore.  Two  rivers,  each  with  many 
affluents,  drain  the  area,  the  oue  flowing  to 
the  south-west  into  Basil’s  Bay,  the  other 
going  north-west  into  Prince  Jerome  Gulf. 
The  mouth  of  the  former,  Kin,  or  Golden 
River,  is  noted  for  the  peaceful  visit  of 
Captain  Hall  in  1816,  and  of  Gutzlaff,  the 
Bible  missionary,  in  1832.  The  other  and 
smaller  stream  is  notorious  as  the  scene  of 
the  grave-robbing  expedition  of  adventurers 
in  the  China  in  1866. 

In  the  north-west  is  the  Nai-po  penin- 
sula, “the  granary  of  the  kingdom,”  and 
renowed  in  Roman  Catholic  annals  as  “ the 
Garden  of  the  Church.”  Fair  harbors  are 
found  here,  and  Caroline  and  Deception 
Bays  are  good  for  the  shelter  of  small  ves- 
sels. Sand-  and  mud-banks  are  too  frequent 
for  larger  ships  to  approach  land,  especially 
as  the  tides  are  violent  and  treacherous. 

Four  cities  of  the  first  rank  are  found 
in  this  province.  Kon-chiu  is  the  capital. 
Chion-chiu  is  on  the  highroad,  and  Chuin- 
ehiu,  in  the  north-west,  is  of  strategic  im- 
portance. The  other  chiu,  or  “ first-class 

19 


290 


COREA. 


city,”  in  which  a kam-sa,  or  governor,  re- 
sides, is  On-cliiu,  in  the  western  centre  of 
the  circuit.  Tai-an  and  Hei-mi  on  the  Nai- 
po  coast  are  well  known  to  foreigners.  At 
the  town  of  Tek-san,  or  Totta-san,  twenty- 
live  miles  inland  from  Prince  Jerome  Gulf, 
is  a place  very  sacred  to  the  royal  family. 
Here  are  situated  the  tombs  of  the  king’s 
ancestors.  These  in  1864  were  renovated 
and  adorned  with  great  care.  This  step 
was  taken  by  the  regent  to  propitiate  fur- 
ther the  ancestral  spirits  to  whose  favor  he 
owed  his  exaltation  to  power.  It  was  to 
rifle  these  tombs  that  the  expedition  was 
made  by  Oppert,  piloted  by  Feron  the 
priest.  Incidentally,  the  outrage  was  the 
cause  of  the  regent’s  violent  persecution  of 
the  Christians. 

The  population  of  the  kingdom  of  Corea 
is  not  yet  ascertained  with  precision.  The 
estimates  vary  from  eight  to  fifteen  millions. 
Until  a regular  census  is  made  it  is  impos- 
sible to  arrive  at  accuracy  on  this  point.  It 
seems  tolerably  certain,  however,  that  under 
better  government,  a higher  civilization  and  a 
religion  which  offers  nobler  motives  for  car- 


THE  EIGHT  PROVINCES. 


291 


ing  both  for  body  and  soul,  and  for  replen- 
ishing the  earth  and  subduing  it,  than  Corea 
at  present  enjoys,  the  “ Land  of  Morning 
Calm  ” would  be  able  comfortably  to  sup- 
port five  times  her  present  population. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


COREA  FOR  CHRIST. 


HE  Coreans  are  soon  to  be  known  to  us, 


not  only  as  neighbors  by  treaty,  but  even 
as  brethren  in  Christ.  Instead  of  finding 
them  all  bloodthirsty,  cruel  and  savage,  as 
has  too  much  been  their  reputation,  we  shall 
yet  know  them  as  gentle,  patient  and  teach- 
able people.  To  those  who  are  interested 
in  their  moral  and  spiritual  welfare,  rather 
than  in  their  commerce  or  politics,  there  are 
cheering  signs.  Corea  is  yet  to  become  one 
of  the  kingdoms  of  Christ. 

No  survey  of  Protestant  Christianity  in 
Corea  would  be  just  without  mention  of  the 
name  of  the  Rev.  Charles  Gutzlaff.  This 
devoted  pioneer,  a native  of  Prussia,  was 
an  agent  of  the  Netherlands  Missionary  So- 
ciety. After  faithful  labors  in  various  parts 
of  Chinese  Asia,  exploiting  fields  for  the 
planting  of  mission-stations  and  sowing  the 


292 


COREA  FOR  CHRIST. 


293 


Bible  as  the  precious  seed  of  salvation,  he 
visited  Corea  in  1832.  He  landed  at  an 
island  called  Chwang-shan  (in  Corean,  Clii- 
on-to),  north  of  Basil’s  Bay,  and  spent 
nearly  a month  in  the  neighborhood.  He 
held  interviews  with  many  of  the  common 
people  and  magistrates,  and  made  gifts  of 
seeds,  potatoes  and  woven  goods.  He  offered 
to  present  the  king  with  a Bible,  but  the 
proposition  was  declined. 

Gutzlaff  was  impressed  with  the  national 
need  of  cleanliness,  temperance  and  educa- 
tion. He  departed  with  the  faith  as  of  a 
grain  of  mustard-seed,  for  he  wrote : “ One 
thing  is  true : these  islands  are  not  inacces- 
sible to  Christianity.” 

Nor  must  we  forget  what  the  Scotch  mis- 
sionaries in  Manchuria  have  done  for  Christ 
and  Corea.  Those  zealous  agents  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland, 
the  Bev.  Messrs.  John  Boss  and  John  McIn- 
tyre, living  at  Mukden,  have  come  into  per- 
sonal contact  with  hundreds  of  Coreans,  refu- 
gees or  persons  in  the  embassies  to  Peking. 
Mastering  the  language,  they  have  preached 
the  gospel  and  translated  the  New  Testa- 


294 


COREA. 


ment.  Under  their  ministration  scores  of 
Coreans  have  become  Christians  and  glorify 
God  in  them.  Already  they  have  a church 
organized,  and  are  prepared  to  move  over 
across  the  Yalu  River  when  the  hour  is 
fully  come  for  freedom  of  Christian  wor- 
ship in  pagan  Corea. 

We  see  that  the  last  stronghold  of  super- 
stition is  to  be  assaulted  by  land  and  sea. 
With  the  help  of  the  Scottish  Bible  Society 
a font  of  Corean  metal  type  has  been  cast  at 
the  Presbyterian  Mission  press  at  Shanghai. 
Portions  of  the  New  Testament  have  already 
been  printed  and  are  now  circulating  in 
Corea  by  the  hundreds.  Editions  of  three 
thousand  copies  each  of  Luke  and  John 
were  exhausted  in  February,  1884.  A new 
translation  of  Luke,  combined  with  Acts, 
has  since  gone  into  the  peninsula  to  do  its 
leavening  work,  followed  by  fresh  editions 
of  five  thousand  each  of  John  and  Matthew. 
Mark,  Romans  and  Corinthians  are  ready 
for  the  press,  and  Ephesians  follows.  The 
year  1885  will  see  a completed  New  Testa- 
ment printed  and  in  general  circulation. 

Many  thousands  of  pages  of  Christian 


RijiutSe. 


Page  295. 


COREA  FOR  CHRIST. 


295 


tracts  have  also  sped  on  their  errand.  The 
Christian  Coreans  baptized  in  1882  and  1883 
have  gone  back  to  their  native  land,  soon,  we 
trust  hopefully,  to  be  heard  from  as  good 
sowers  of  the  seed  and  faithful  soldiers  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

‘‘These  from  the  land  of  Sinim.” 

Turning  now  from  China  to  “ the  rising 
of  the  sun,”  we  find  in  Japan  an  equally 
hopeful  sprouting  of  the  gospel  seed,  ready 
for  transplanting  to  the  peninsula  at  the 
right  time.  The  Japanese  Christians  feel 
that  Corea  is  their  Macedonia.  Either  in 
or  following  after  the  various  embassies  from 
Seoul,  from  1876  to  the  present  time,  have 
come  Corean  young  men  to  study  Western 
languages,  science  and  Christianity  in  Ja- 
pan. Several  of  these  have  been  converted 
and  have  united  with  Japanese  Christian 
churches.  The  most  prominent  of  these  is 
the  nobleman  Rijiutei,  formerly  of  the  royal 
household  in  Seoul,  who  came  to  Tokio  after 
the  riot  in  1882.  Now,  as  an  earnest  Chris- 
tian, he  not  only  labors  to  advance  the  gos- 
pel among  his  countrymen  in  Japan,  but  has 


296 


COREA. 


also  begun  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures 
into  Corean. 

A converted  heathen’s  mother-speech, 
when  he  is  baptized  by  the  Spirit  of  Jesus, 
becomes  from  his  pen  or  tongue  a new 
instrument  of  thought.  The  diction  of  a 
native  must  necessarily  be  vastly  superior 
in  force  and  eloquence  to  the  work  of  a 
foreigner,  however  scholarly  or  consecrated. 

There  are  now  in  Tokio,  at  the  Sandham 
Academy  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  Amer- 
ica, seven  Corean  young  men,  most  of  whom 
are  Christians.  Two  Corean  girls  have  been 
educated  at  the  American  Mission  Home  at 
Yokohama. 

The  Christians  of  Scotland  seem  resolved 
to  be  behind  no  others  in  prayer  and  work 
for  Corea.  In  1883  the  Rev.  A.  W.  Douth- 
waite  on  behalf  of  the  Scottish  Bible  Society 
visited  the  ports  opened  by  treaty,  and,  de- 
spite some  native  and  foreign  official  oppo- 
sition, was  able  to  distribute  many  of  the 
society’s  publications  in  Chinese.  A further 
supply,  forwarded  to  the  Rev.  John  Ross, 
will  enter  by  way  of  Manchuria. 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  United  Pres- 


COREA  FOR  CHRIST. 


297 


byterian  Church  of  Scotland,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Nagasaka,  a Japanese  pastor,  reached  Corea 
early  in  the  spring  of  1884,  and  shortly  after 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Thompson  of  Scotland  fol- 
lowed. These,  with  the  help  of  two  native 
believers,  have  established  Bible-depots  at 
the  open  ports. 

All  honor  to  our  earnest  Scotch  brethren ! 

It  is  quite  possible  that  the  Anglican 
Church  may  before  many  months  begin 
missionary  work  in  Seoul.  Addressing  a 
letter  under  date  of  January  12,  1884,  to 
Sir  Harry  Parkes,  the  British  minister 
plenipotentiary  to  China,  after  his  return 
from  Chimul-po  and  Seoul,  concerning  the 
right  and  possibility  of  open  preaching  of 
the  gospel,  the  envoy  replied : “ Whether 
the  right  to  proselyte  will  be  conceded  or 
not  must  in  no  small  degree  depend  upon 
the  judgment  and  discretion  of  the  first 
pioneers  of  the  missionary  field.  . . . Mis- 
sionary labor  would  naturally  commence  at 
the  ports,  and  time  would  be  required  to  say 
when  it  would  be  wise  and  safe  to  extend  it 
into  the  interior.”  Bishop  Scott,  in  trans- 
mitting the  British  envoy’s  letter  to  the 


298 


COREA. 


archbishop  of  Canterbury,  requests  that  he 
bring  the  matter  forward  in  quarters  where 
it  will  be  likely  to  awaken  interest,  with  a 
view  of  organizing  a mission  of  the  Church 
of  England  to  Corea. 

Meanwhile,  what  have  American  Chris- 
tians done  to  bring  Corea  to  Christ?  The 
question  is  vital  and  timely  for  our  new 
neighbors,  and  important  to  ourselves,  since 
necessity  to  obey  the  Master’s  orders  is  laid 
upon  us.  We  have  had  “ our  little  war 
with  the  heathen”  with  powder  and  ball,  by 
which,  probably,  six  hundred  heathen  house- 
holds were  made  desolate  by  American  arms. 
Now  let  us  begin  the  holy  war  of  love.  The 
old  forts  on  the  Han  River,  once  bombard- 
ed by  our  Dahlgren  guns,  are  now  disman- 
tled, overgrown  with  vines  and  beautiful 
with  bloom.  These  battlefields  “ Nature 
has  long  since  healed  and  reconciled  to 
herself  with  the  sweet  oblivion  of  flowers.” 
Let  our  peaceful  warfare  now  be  with  burn- 
ing zeal,  fed  by  the  fuel  of  a holy  fire. 

In  the  race  to  enter  first  the  heathen 
stronghold,  to  plant  the  standard  of  Im- 
manuel, there  lias  been  noble  emulation 


COREA  FOR  CHRIST. 


299 


between  the  two  great  bodies,  the  Method- 
ists and  the  Presbyterians.  Which  will  lead 
in  this  glorious  work  the  future  has  yet  to 
reveal.  Our  Methodist  friends,  however, 
are  the  first  in  point  of  time  to  arrive  on 
the  soil  and  to  be  recognized  by  the  govern- 
ment as  helpers  in  the  new  paths  of  national 
advancement. 

In  the  autumn  of  1883  the  Methodist 
Missionary  Committee  in  New  York  appro- 
priated $5000  to  reconnoitre  the  Corean  field. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Maclay  of  Japan  accepted  the 
appointment  to  act  as  pioneers.  Arriving,  at 
Chimul-po,  they  made  their  way  overland 
in  sedan  chairs  to  the  capital  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1884.  At  the  American  Legation 
they  received  a hearty  welcome  from  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Foote.  A letter  addressed  to  a 
prominent  officer  of  the  government  wTas 
answered  promptly  by  an  invitation  to  an 
interview,  which  resulted  in  an  approval  of 
Dr.  Maclay’s  work.  "While  still  strongly 
opposed  to  that  form  of  Christianity  which, 
linked  as  it  was  with  treasonable  ideas,  had 
caused  so  much  trouble  in  the  kingdom,  yet 
the  Reformed  faith,  divorced  for  ever  from 


300 


COREA. 


temporal  rulers  and  claims,  would  find  no 
serious  obstacles  to  its  progress  in  Ta  Cho- 
sun.  In  Dr.  Maclay’s  wise  opinion,  only 
Corean  agents  should  be  employed  in  start- 
ing the  mission,  as  there  is  a strong  dislike 
to  the  Japanese  still  lingering  among  the 
natives.  This  feeling  is  the  remnant  of  the 
bitterness  engendered  by  the  long  and  terri- 
ble wars  of  the  sixteenth  century,  increased 
by  an  apparent  tendency  in  the  Japanese 
merchant-class  to  despise  the  natives  as 
“ uncivilized.” 

It  is  the  intention  to  break  missionary 
ground  by  employing  first  the  physician  and 
teacher.  Rev.  William  B.  Scranton,  M.  D., 
of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  will  establish  in  Seoul 
a hospital  and  dispensary,  and  another  gen- 
tleman is  under  appointment  to  go  out, 
found  a school  and  do  missionary  work 
proper.  We  wish  a harvest  of  success  to 
our  Methodist  friends  on  this  new  gospel 
field — like  our  own  prairie  soil,  hard  to 
break,  but  rich  in  possibilities. 

The  clearness  of  the  providental  call  to 
the  Presbyterian  churches  of  America  to 
enter  this  Macedonia  is  shown  in  a three- 


COREA  FOR  CHRIST. 


301 


fold  manifestation.  First,  several  Coreans, 
and  these  of  marked  influence,  have  been 
led  to  Christ  through  the  personal  labors 
of  our  Presbyterian  missionaries  in  Japan. 
Second,  one  of  these,  Rijiutei,  has  issued  a 
touching  appeal  for  gospel  messengers  to 
his  countrymen.  Third,  nearly  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  have  been  contributed  at  home 
expressly  for  starting  a Corean  mission.  As 
stewards  of  the  Lord,  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  is  bound  at  once  to  put  this  fund 
to  active  interest  pf  good.  Preparation  can- 
not be  begun  too  soon. 

As  we  write  these  closing  lines,  wre  desire 
to  pay  a tribute  to  the  wisdom  and  energy 
of  the  Board,  and  express  the  hope  that  the 
members  of  it  have  been  directed  aright  in 
their  choice  of  the  pioneers.  The  Rev.  Hor- 
ace Underwood,  a graduate  of  the  Theologi- 
cal Seminary  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
America,  ordained  November  11th  at  New 
Brunswick,  New-  Jersey,  is  under  commis- 
sion to  learn  the  Corean  language  in  Japan 
and  begin  evangelistic  labors  in  Seoul  as 
soon  as  possible.  The  medical  missionaries 
appointed  are  Dr.  J.  H.  Heron  of  Jones- 


302 


COREA. 


boro’,  East  Tennessee,  and  H.  A.  Allen, 
M.  D.,  of  Shanghai,  China. 

Dr.  Allen  arrived  in  Seoul  about  the 
middle  of  September,  1884,  and  is  official- 
ly the  physician  to  the  U.  S.  Legation  until 
full  opportunities  open  to  prosecute  active 
Christian  work.  In  the  Foreign  Mission- 
ary for  December,  1884,  the  secretaries  of 
the  Board  had  the  pleasure  of  publishing 
“ Our  First  Letter  from  Korea.” 

It  is  an  inspiring  sight  to  see  Christian 
young  men  and  women,  strong  in  youth  and 
consecrated  purpose,  so  ready  to  enter  this 
“ land  without  a religion.”  As  we  close  the 
missionary  record  for  1884  and  begin  that 
of  1885,  we  see  a band  of  five  Christian 
envoys  leaving  New  York,  January  20th, 
for  San  Francisco,  intending  to  sail  from 
that  port  February  3d  for  Corea  by  way 
of  Japan.  They  are  sent  out  by  the  Meth- 
odist Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  They 
will  tarry  in  “ the  Sunrise  Kingdom  ” (Japan) 
until  Cho-sen  becomes  Morning  Calm  again. 
The  party  consists  of  the  Rev.  Wm.  B.  Scran- 
ton, M.  D.,  and  Mrs.  Scranton  ; the  Rev.  H. 
G.  Appenzeller  and  Mrs.  Appenzeller ; and 


COREA  FOR  CHRIST. 


303 


Mrs.  Mary  F.  Scranton.  A recent  letter 
from  the  Corean  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs 
to  Dr.  Maclay  gives  reassurance  of  the  de- 
sire of  the  government  that  school  and 
hospital  work  be  at  once  begun  in  Seoul. 

The  recent  disturbances  in  the  capital 
are  not  likely  seriously  to  retard  the  spread 
of  the  gospel.  Its  steady  propagation  is 
sure  to  go  on.  The  heathen  gates,  unbolt- 
ed and  already  ajar,  will  soon  be  flung  open 
wide,  and  Christian  churches  stand  on  the 
soil  so  long  cursed  with  superstition.  The 
interior  too,  we  hope,  may  soon  be  traversed 
by  the  bearers  of  an  open  Bible  and  Christ’s 
free  Evangel.  Then  will  Corea  take  her 
place  among  the  nations  which,  once  sitting 
in  darkness,  have  seen  a great  Light. 

In  old  Asiatic  countries,  semi-civilized 
and  without  representative  institutions,  rev- 
olutions, or  at  least  riotous  outbreaks,  must 
be  expected  whenever  a change  of  policy  has 
been  decided  upon.  Where  the  means  of 
expression  of  public  opinion  are  lacking, 
the  government  is  almost  of  necessity  that 
of  “ a despotism  tempered  by  assassination.” 
What  in  Great  Britain  would  be  accom- 


304 


COREA. 


plished  by  a change  of  ministry,  and  in  the 
United  States  by  a Presidential  election,  is 
in  Corea,  as  in  Old  Japan,  brought  about 
by  riot  and  bloodshed.  The  murderous 
proceedings  of  July  23,  1882,  and  of  De- 
cember 4,  1884,  seem  to  be  little  more  than 
Corean  equivalents  for  moving  a resolution 
of  censure  on  the  ministry  or  voting  in  a 
new  administration.  In  both  cases,  how- 
ever, but  especially  in  the  latter,  the  in- 
tense jealousy  of  the  rival  “ protectors  ” of 
Corea  furnished  the  conditions  for  a compli- 
cated and  bloody  conflict.  The  long-stand- 
ing hostility  of  China  and  Japan  found  a 
centre  in  Seoul.  It  may  be  that  a third 
power,  Russia,  will  step  in  and  seize  the 
prize.  At  present  we  see  grounds  for  be- 
lief that  the  regeneration  of  Corea,  instead 
of  being  retarded  by  recent  events,  will 
rather  be  hastened  thereby.  Paganism 
certainly  receives  no  benefit  from  them. 

One  of  the  direct  results  of  the  disturb- 
ances of  December  last  is  the  opening  of  a 
hospital  in  Seoul  under  the  superintendence 
of  a Christian  physician  and  the  arrival  in 
our  own  land  of  influential  Coreans,  three 


COREA  FOR  CHRIST. 


305 


of  whom  had  been  members  of  the  liberal 
cabinet. 

After  the  riots  in  December,  1884,  Lieu- 
tenant Foulk,  of  the  American  legation, 
made  the  application,  and  the  house  former- 
ly occupied  by  Hong  Yong  Sik  (p.  215),  who 
was  killed  in  the  riots,  was  granted  by  the 
Corean  minister  of  foreign  affairs.  This 
Hay  Min  So,  or  “ House  of  Civilized  Vir- 
tue,” is  sustained  by  the  government.  It 
contains  forty  beds  and  most  of  the  necessary 
appliances  of  a hospital.  For  many  weeks 
after  the  bloody  disturbances  of  December,  Dr. 
Allen  was  busy  in  attending  to  the  wounded 
Chinese  soldiers  and  Coreans.  A most  inter- 
esting letter  to  the  Medical  Record  details 
his  work  from  the  view"  of  science.  In  the 
Foreign  Missionary  we  read  of  his  attend- 
ance in  the  royal  palace  upon  the  queen 
dowager.  Medical  w’ork  promises  to  be  an 
efficient  pioneer  for  the  gospel. 

From  the  reports  of  the  Scotch  mission- 
aries through  native  colporteurs,  and  the 
circulation  of  the  New  Testament  in  Corean, 
we  hear  of  six  hundred  inquirers  after  Christ. 
This  is  the  burden  of  Corea.  Though  con- 


20 


306 


COREA. 


servatives  be  in  power  and  Chinese  influence 
retard,  the  work  of  Christianity  and  civiliza- 
tion cannot  suffer  long  hindrance.  Thus  far, 
conservatives  and  liberals  alike  have  been 
kind  to  Christian  missionaries  who  wisely 
li  keep  out  of  politics.” 

China  and  Japan  have  compounded  their 
differences  in  the  Corean  matter  by  agreeing 
to  withdraw  their  troops  from  Seoul.  In  their 
negotiations  the  English  language  was  used, 
for  the  sake  of  greater  clearness. 

Despite  the  temporary  discouragements 
which  those  within  and  without  Corea  are 
too  prone  to  brood  over,  we  still,  as  Chris- 
tians who  believe  that  “ the  evening  and  the 
morning”  make  God’s  day,  hold  our  faith 
unshaken  in  her  speedy  evangelization.  That 
the  Land  of  Morning  Calm,  the  Middle  King- 
dom and  the  Empire  of  the  Rising  Sun  are 
yearning  for  full  human  brotherhood  with 
Christian  nations  and  are  yielding  to  Christ’s 
gospel  is  as  sure  as  the  coming  of  a full  day  to 
him  who  gazes  into  the  fountains  of  the  dawn. 


APPENDIX. 


BOOKS  ON  THE  COUNTRY,  PEOPLE  AND  LAN- 
GUAGE. 


For  the  further  study  of  the  people  and 
the  language  of  Corea  we  may  refer  the  in- 
terested reader  to  the  standard  works  of  Du 
Halde,  De  Mailla,  Klaproth  and  Yon  Sie- 
bold ; the  more  recent  monographs  of  Pfiz- 
maier,  Kempermann  and  Scherzer ; the  voy- 
ages of  Basil  Hall,  J.  McLeod,  C.  Gutzlaff, 
E.  Belcher,  Arthur  Adams,  E.  Oppert;  the 
travels  of  A.  Williamson ; and  the  books  of 
S.  Wells  Williams,  John  Boss,  and  the  His- 
tbire  de  L' Eglise  de  Coree,  par  Cli.  Dallet. 
These  books  are,  most  of  them,  easily  acces- 
sible in  libraries  or  at  the  larger  bookstores. 
For  the  bibliography  of  the  subject  see  pp. 
xi.-xvii.  of  Corea,  the  Hermit  Nation. 

The  chief  interest  in  Corea,  to  American 
readers,  is  in  the  future.  For  fresh  and 

307 


308 


COREA. 


sterling  information  we  must  look  to  the 
Transactions  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Ja- 
pan, to  the  Journal  of  the  North  China 
Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  to  the 
Missionary  Record  of  the  United  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Scotland,  to  the  Foreign 
Missionary  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
(North)  in  our  own  country,  and  to  the 
missionary  publications  of  those  Christian 
bodies  having  gospel  agents  in  this  new 
mission-field. 

Most  of  what  has  been  written  about  the 
country,  people  and  language  of  Corea  is 
scattered  through  miscellaneous,  diplomatic, 
naval,  scientific  and  other  serial  publications, 
or  in  monograph  pamphlets  which  are  dif- 
ficult to  procure.  Valuable  publications  are 
often  printed  at  the  ports  of  China,  Japan 
and  other  Asiatic  countries,  which,  though 
worthy  of  reprint  in  America  or  Europe, 
rarely  pass  beyond  a first  edition,  and  are 
lost  to  the  student,  who  would  gladly  pos- 
sess them.  A knowledge  of  some  reputable 
bookseller  in  the  East  would  often  enable 
those  at  home  to  possess  the  desired  pub- 
lication. We  may  recommend  Messrs.  Kel- 


APPENDIX. 


309 


ly  & Co.,  Yokohama  and  Shanghai,  who 
have  on  hand,  or  take  an  interest  in  pro- 
curing, whatever  in  print  relates  to  the 
“ Far  East.” 

For  the  study  of  the  Corean  language  the 
student  may  consult  Dallet,  vol.  i.  pp.  77- 
94 ; the  Dictionnaire  Coreen-Frangais,  pp. 
695 ; and  the  Grammaire  Coreenne,  pp.  334. 
These  are  the  fruits  of  the  labors  of  the 
French  missionaries. 

The  Corean  Primer,  by  the  Rev.  John 
Ross,  is  a manual  of  conversation  in  eighty- 
nine  pages. 

The  Corean  New  Testament  is  the  joint 
work  of  Rev.  Messrs.  John  Ross  and  John 
McIntyre.  With  this  and  several  classics 
of  Christian  literature,  such  as  Peep  of  Day, 
Pilgrim’s  Progress  and  Dr.  Martin’s  Evi- 
dences of  Christianity,  the  student  will  be 
greatly  aided. 

Mr.  W.  G.  Aston,  the  foremost  living 
English  student  of  Corean  at  this  writing, 
has  written  several  reviews  and  valuable 
papers  showing  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
subject,  and  his  works  may  be  heartily  com- 
mended in  advance  of  publication.  The 


310 


COREA. 


apparatus  for  the  mastery  of  Corean  has 
yet  to  be  made,  but  cannot  long  be  deferred. 
In  this  work,  so  nobly  begun  by  Scotch  and 
English  scholars,  it  is  hoped  Americans  may 
soon  take  part. 


INDEX 


A. 

Adams,  Arthur,  240. 
Agriculture,  115, 122,  231-233. 
Ai-chiu,  114,  179. 

Allen,  Dr.  H.  A.,  223,  302. 
Alphabets,  26,  156. 

American  Legation  in  Seoul, 
214,  218,  225,  299,  302. 
American  relations  with  Corea, 
173,  184,  185,  186,  191-203, 
207-209,  216,  226,  298. 
Amoor  River,  15,  17. 
Ancestor-worship,  167. 
Ancestral  tablets,  175,  176. 
Animals,  116 
Annam,  10. 

Arabs  in  Corea,  10,  252,  253. 
Archery,  89. 

Area  of  Corea,  10. 

Armor,  119. 

Arms,  49,  50,  119. 

Army,  119,  123. 

Art,  26,  248-267. 

Arthur,  President,  214,  215. 
Artillery,  49,  50, 196,  198,  202. 
Aston,  Mr.  W.  G.,  217,  277, 
309. 


B. 

Beds,  137. 

Bible,  293,  294,  297. 

Birds,  117,  237. 

Blake,  Captain  H.  C.,  197. 
Books,  155. 

Border-Gate,  153,  185,  228. 
Broughton,  Captain,  176,  182, 
285. 

Buddhism,  24,  29,  168-170. 
Burial,  144-146. 

O. 

Cannon.  See  Artillery. 

Cassel,  Lieut.  Douglas,  200. 
Ceramics,  266. 

Cespedes,  33. 

Chifu,  185,  187,  203. 

Children,  140-143. 

Chimul-po,  212,  225,  226,  280. 

See  In-chiun. 

Chinese,  22,  26,  31,  213 
Cholera,  180. 

Cho-sen,  16,  110. 

Christianity  (Greek),  181. 
Christianity  (Reformed),  293- 
302. 


311 


312 


INDEX. 


Christianity  (Roman),  33, 173- 
188,  280. 

Chulla-do,  31,  68,  288. 
Civil-Service  Reform,  29,  122, 
142. 

Climate,  114. 

Coins,  224. 

Comets,  92. 

Confucianists,  166,  182,  208, 

211. 

Corea,  name,  11,  110. 

Coreans  in  Japan,  21,  106,  249, 
266. 

Costume,  29. 

Cotton,  32,  240,  241. 

Cowan,  Dr.  Frank,  231,  243. 
Coxinga,  38. 

Crocodiles,  117. 

D. 

Dallet,  M.  Charles,  307,  309. 
Diet.  See  Food. 

Dogs,  61,  234. 

Douthwaite,  Rev.  A.  W.,  296. 
Dragon,  164,  261,  262. 

Drew,  Mr.,  195,  199. 

Dutch.  See  Hollanders. 

E. 

Education,  140-143. 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  115. 
Embassies,  153,  206,  207,  215. 
Episcopal  missionaries,  297, 
298. 

F. 

Fans,  262. 

Feng-shuey,  164,  165. 


Feudalism,  18,  25,  118. 

Fish,  113,  236. 

Flags,  215,  261. 

Flail-men,  52. 

Flowers,  240. 

Flying-fish,  H.  B.  M.  S.  S.,  212. 
Food,  231-234. 

Foote,  General  Lucius  H.,  214, 
299. 

Formosa,  36-40. 

France,  181. 

French,  9,  179,  183-187,  189, 
205,  218,  280. 

Fruits,  232. 

Fu-san,  31,  111,  153,  206,  207, 
287. 

Fuyu,  18,  19,  21,  33. 

G. 

Genghis  Khan,  26. 

“General  Sherman,”  185,  191, 
192,  195,  207. 

Gen-san.  See  Wen-shan. 
Geography  of  Corea,  275,  291. 
Germans,  189,  217. 

Ginseng,  11,  74,  115,  242. 
Gladstone,  Mr.,  216. 

Gold,  11,  243,  244. 

Goto  Islands,  104. 

Grain,  231. 

Grant,  General  U.  S.,  193, 
194. 

Gunpowder,  33,  95. 

Gutzlaff,  164,  245, 289,  292, 29a 

H. 


Hai-nam,  67. 


INDEX. 


313 


Hall,  Captain  Basil,  282,  289, 
307. 

Hamel,  Hendrick,  13,  36,  107, 
108,  131,  189. 

Han  River,  20,  75,  197-203, 
205,  278,  298. 

Hanabusa,  212,  214. 

Han-yang.  See  Seoul. 

Hats,  29. 

Hayes,  President,  207. 
Head-dresses,  29. 

Heron,  Dr.  J.  H.,  301. 
Hiaksai,  22. 

Hirado,  100. 

Hollanders,  35,  55,  56. 

Horses,  234. 

Hospitality,  138. 

Houses,  136-138. 

I. 

Idols,  169. 

Ignatieff,  181. 

Imbert,  Bishop,  178. 

In-chiun,  163,  197,  208,  210, 
212,  277,  280. 

Intemperance,  47,  49. 

J. 

Japanese,  21,  30, 102,  151, 169, 
180,  204-206,  211-213,  221, 
224,  249,  250,  251,  257,  300. 
Jen-shan.  See  In-chiun. 
Jin-sen.  See  In-chiun. 

Jesuits,  174,  275. 

K. 

Kang-wa,  34, 187, 190, 198, 205. 


Kaoli  or  Ko-rai,  17,  24,  25,  26. 

I Kimberly,  L.  A.,  Commander, 

199. 

King,  157,  188,  211. 
King-ki-tao,  69.  See  Seoul. 
Ki-tsze,  15,  17. 

L. 

Language,  204,  213,  296,  307- 
310. 

Li  Hung  Chang,  204,  213. 
Lotus,  158. 

Low,  Hon.  A.  A.,  194 

M. 

Macao,  179,  180. 

Maclay,  Rev.  Dr.,  299, 300,  303. 
Magnetic  needle,  26. 
Manchuria,  15,  21, 185. 
Manchius,  34. 

Markets,  228. 

Marriage,  139. 

Maubant,  M.,  178. 

Mayers,  Mr.  W.  F.,  230. 
McCaslin,  Captain,  185,  191. 
McIntyre,  Rev.  John,  293,  309. 
McKee,  Lieutenant,  202,  203. 
Methodist  missionaries,  299, 
300,  302. 

Min  Yong  Ik,  215. 

Mollendorf,  Herr  Paul  von, 
217. 

Monasteries,  25,  132-134,  168. 
Money,  154 
Mongols,  26,  28. 

Monocacy,  U.  S.  S.  S.,  195, 197, 

200,  215. 


314 


INDEX. 


Morals,  148. 

Mourning,  143-145. 

N. 

Nagasaki,  47,  104,  105,  189. 
Nai-po,  175,  289. 

Nanking,  26,  112. 

Nan-on,  31,  87. 

Neutral  strip,  204,  282,  283. 
Nin-sen.  See  In-chiun. 
Ni-Taijo,  28,  29,  182. 
Niu-chwang,  185. 

Nunneries,  134. 

O. 

Oppert,  Ernest,  186,  189,  190, 
290. 

P. 

Palace,  158,  223,  224. 

Parkes,  Sir  Harry,  217,  297. 
Passports,  72. 

Peking,  153,  174,  180,  193, 
230. 

Pepper,  153,  232. 

Perry,  Commodore  M.  C.,  197, 
‘ 206. 

Petitions,  158. 

Ping-an,  185, 192, 194,  203,  284. 
Political  parties,  172,  208,  222. 
Pope,  223,  241. 

Portugal,  177. 

Pottery,  266. 

Presbyterian  missionaries,  293, 
294,  296,  301,  302. 

Printing,  26,  30. 

Products,  11,  74,  153. 


Provinces.  See  Geography. 
Punishments,  50,  63,  86,  91, 
124-130,  184. 

Q. 

Queen  Cho,  203. 

Quelpaert  Island,  53,  55,  78, 
170,  176,  238,  287. 

R. 

Rain,  211. 

Reformed  Church  in  America, 
296,  301. 

Regent.  See  Tai-wen-kun. 
Religion,  130-135,  161-171. 
Revenue,  122,  123. 

Rice,  48,  210. 

Rijiutdi,  295,  301. 

Robbers,  86. 

Rodgers,  Rear-Admiral  John, 
194,  195,  199. 

Ross,  Rev.  John,  293,  296,  307, 
309. 

Roze  Island,  195,  212. 
Russians,  181,  183. 

S. 

Sacrifices,  167. 

Salc'e  River.  See  Han  River. 
Sargent,  Senator,  207. 

Satow,  Mr.  Ernest,  156. 

Schley,  W.  Scott,  Lieutenant- 
Commander,  199,  202. 
Schools,  26,  140,  218,  300. 
Scotchmen,  109,  186,  293-296. 
Scranton,  Rev.  Wm.  B.,  300. 
Scioul,  29,  30,  32,  34,  69,  153, 


ISDEX. 


315 


157,  158,  1ST,  188,  210,  216, 
218,  223,  224,  239,  247,  299. 
Serfdom.  See  Slavery. 
Shanghai,  179. 

Shing-king,  17. 

Shin-ra,  249. 

Shinto,  163. 

Shipping,  120,  121. 

Shufeldt,  Rear-Admiral  R.  W., 
191,  192,  193,  207-209,  246. 
Siam,  153,  161. 

Silk,  116,  235. 

Silver,  244. 

Sinlo,  or  Shin-ra,  11,  22,  23. 
Slavery,  120,  126. 

Sorio.  See  Fusan. 

Spies,  95. 

Sunto,  24,  280. 

Superstitions,  125,  146. 

T. 

Ta  Cho-sun,  12,  16,  29. 

Taiko,  30,  32,  262. 
Tai-wen-kun,  182,  212. 

Tartars,  35,  74,  76,  78. 

Tea,  232. 

Telegraphs,  12,  112. 

Temples,  162, 163, 164, 169, 174. 
Thomas,  Rev.,  186. 
Tieonderoga,  U.  S.  S.  S.,  193, 
207. 

Tientsin,  209. 


Tiger-hunters,  187. 

Tigers,  235,  261. 

Tilton,  Captain  McLane,  203. 
Timber,  237-240. 

Tobacco,  32,  152,  242. 

Tombs,  189,  190,  290. 
i Treaties,  206,  216,  217. 

Trees,  159,  164,  165,  237-239. 
Tribute,  74,  151,  229. 
Tsushima,  112,  153. 

Tumen  River,  179,  181,  255. 

U. 

Underwood,  Rev.  Horace,  301. 
Uru-san,  32. 

W. 

Wachusett,  U.  S.  S.  S.,  191. 
Wadhams.  Master  A.  V.,  201. 
Weigats,  113. 

Weights  and  Measures,  154. 
Welles,  Admiral,  216. 
Wen-slian,  29,  207,  286. 
Whales,  112,  113. 

Williams.  Dr.  S.  Wells,  194, 
203,  307. 

Women,  125,  137-141. 
Writing,  155. 

Y. 

Yalu  River,  24,  32,  176,  204, 
294 


THE  END. 


DS902 .G85 
Corea,  without  and  within: 


’rinceton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1012  00023  5863 


HIGHSMITH  #45230 


